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PRO -SL WERY OVERTHROWN ; 

AND THE 

TRUE PRSXCIPLES OF 

ABOLITIONISM 

DECLARED. 



OK A SERIES O? LECTURES IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION "WHAT 
HE 9CEIT TURKS TIACB ON Tilt jU'BJECT OF SLAVERY." 



BY REV. THOMAS L0DN8BURY, 

TOR OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF OVID, R. T. 



SECOND EDITION. 



GESETA, FT . X . j 
GEO. II. DERBY & CO., PUBLISHERS. 

FEIVIY-YAIV, N. IT. : 
HENRY B. BENNETT. 

1847. 



S0 I J 






4 



I 

h 

<2/ 



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PREFACE. 

"Resolved, That a political union in any 
form between a slaveholdin^ and a free com- 
munity, must necessarily involve the latter 
in the gulph of slavery. Therefore, 

Resolved, That secession from the present 
United States Government is the duty of ev- 
ery abolitionist, since no one can take office, 
or deposite a vote under its constitution with- 
out violating his antislavery principles, and 
rendering himself an abettor of the slave 
holder in his sin. 

Resolved, That fourteen years of war- 
fare against the slave power, have convinced 
us that every act done in support of the A" 
merican Union rivets the chains of the slave 
— that the only exodus of the slave to free- 
dom, unless it be one of blood, must be over 
the ruins of the present American church, and 
the grave of the present Union. 

Resolved, That the abolitionists of this 
country, should make it one of the primary 



11 PREFACE. 

objects of their agitation, to dissolve th« 
American Union" (Resolutions adopted by 
the American Antislavery Soc. See N. Y. 
Obs. May 25, 1844.) 

The above is the latest developement of 
the amiable spirit of modern abolition. This 
may be regarded as a proclamation of war 
by the vanguard of the abolition army against 
heaven, and earth. The different platoons in 
the rear are advancing bravely on. Soon 
they will all be in file with the front rank. 
Then look for deeds of daring from their 
combined puissance. 

The author foreseeing this result deemed 
it proper to instruct the respected people of 
his charge on the subject, that they might be 
able to take Bible ground in the approaching 
conflict. Hence, the following lectures. 
They were prepared without any idea, in the 
first instance, of publication. As they were 
delivered, a strong desire was manifested, by 
individuals, for whose judgment he has a 
high regard, to have them given to the pub- 
lic. It is in compliance with this desire that 
they now appear before the reader. 

It is not pretended that the whole subject 
is exhausted in the course of these lectures ; 



PREFACE. Hi 



on the contrary many questions both inciden- 
tal, and direct, for the sake of brevity, have 
been passed over in silence. The simple ob- 
ject aimed at, is to present a biblical view of 
some leading points pertaining to the matter 
under discussion. The preceding resolution 
adopted by the American Antislavery Soci- 
ety at their recent anniversary in the city of 
New York, are in evidence that the time has 
come, when the friends of truth and order 
should speak out, and be heard. Their too 
great forbearance, and almost entire silence 
hitherto, have but emboldened fanaticism, 
and distracted the minds of many persons, 
who have had neither time, nor opportunity 
to give the subject a thorough investigation. 
The great body of the people, he is fully sa- 
tisfied, will go with the Bible, if they can 
clearly ascertain what the Bible teaches in 
relation to slavery. The following lectures 
are a small contribution on the subject, de- 
signed to aid the candid inquirer after truth 
and duty. That their tendency may be the 
promotion of this object, is the earnest wish 
and prayer of the author. 

Ovid June. 29, 1844. 
1* 



LECTURE I. 



DID SLAVERY EXIST AMONG THE JEWS 
IN THE DAYS OF MOSES? 

Levit. XXV. 44, 45, 46. 

"Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which 
thou shalt have, shall be of the Heathen, that are 
round about you ; of them shall ye buy bondmen and 
bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the stran- 
gers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, 
and of their families that are with you, which they 
begat in your land ; and they shall be your possession. 
And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your 
children after you, to inherit them for a possession, 
they shall be your bondmen forever; but over you 
brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one 
over another with rigor.' 7 

Slavery has been the political condition 
of a large portion of the human family, in ev- 
ery age of the world. The rigors, and suf- 
ferings of this condition among the nations 
of the earth, not influenced by divine reve- 
lation, are always great and extreme. This, 
together with all other evils of humanity, be- 
comes ameliorated by the influence of revela- 



2 LECTURE I. 

ed truth, the tendency of which is, ultimately 
to banish all sorrow from the human bosom. 
The law, as well as the gospel, looks directly 
to the abolition of the institution of slavery, as 
it does to the abolition of all other civil insti- 
tutions, that bear unequally upon the rights of 
man. The two precepts of the law ; " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and thy neighbor as thyself," constitute the 
very spirit and essence of the gospel. If 
the law could have had its legitimate influ- 
ence upon the hearts of men at the time it 
was promulgated, it would have produced 
all the benign results upon the condition of 
humanity, that the gospel will ever effect, 
that is to say, the gospel will never make 
men better than the law requires them to be. 
There is however this difference, the law is 
a simple statement of what is right, without 
of itself, ministering to the creature under law, 
any aid to do right. The gospel reaffirms 
what is right, and ministers divine assistance, 
by which the fallen creature may be ena- 
bled to do right. These things being so, di- 
vine revelation is, at all times, the only anti- 
dote to human woe. And wherever and by 
whomsoever it is enjoyed, the suffering con- 



LECTURE I. 3 

dition of human beings, begins to be amelior- 
ated. It does not in any instance effect im- 
mediate freedom from all sorrow but it assua- 
ges that sorrow, and tends to ultimate deliver- 
ance from it. Revelation, did mitigate the 
evils of slavery under the old testament dis- 
pensation, though it did not eradicate the in- 
stitution. The tendency is the same under 
the gospel, only more powerful in proportion 
to the superadded light, which it furnishes. 
The promised result of deliverance from this, 
and all other evils, is a matter of certainty, 
where Christianity is fully received, and prac- 
tically obeyed. 

Moses the divine law-giver in his day 
found slavery existing, and prevalent among 
the Jews and all the surrounding nations, as 
a civil institution of long standing, and of im- 
memorial custom [See 3Iichaelis , Com. Laws 
of Moses.) The Patriarchs had all been slave- 
holders. Abraham had souls in his posses- 
sion before he left Haran, and he brought 
them into Canaan with him. In Canaan he 
had a large house-hold of slaves, of those 
that were bought with his money, and of 
those, that were born in his family. Hager 
the maid servant of Sarai was a bond wo- 



4 LECiURE I. 

man, and what in slave-holdiuir regions is 
called a family servant. Moses undoubted- 
ly saw the evils of slavery. But it existed 
among the people as a civil institution incor- 
porated into all theii domestic arrangements, 
and strengthened by immemorial usage. — 
The question with a wise legislator, and one 
who was under the direction of the God of 
love and mercy, was, which would be the 
greater evil of the two, entirely to abrogate 
the institution, or suffer it to remain under 
certain restrictions, which would in some de- 
gree mitigate the evils of bondage 1 Civil 
institutions of long standing, can never be 
suddenly abrogated with safety to the public. 
All attempt of this kind end usually in revo- 
lution, revolution in anarchy, and anarchy in 
a state of things infinitely worse than that 
which had previously existed. For all great 
changes in the civil condition of men, the 
public mind must be gradually prepared, or 
the result will be an entire disruption of all 
the bonds of society, and the introduction 
of untold, and almost interminable miseries. 
Moses therefore, saw that it would be best 
both for the master and the slave to suffer the 
institution to continue, and add such regula- 



LECTURE I. 5 

lions in regard to it as would make the con- 
dition of bondmen more comfortable than it 
had previously been. This course he persu- 
ed, not alone in regard to the institution of 
slavery. There were other consuetudinary 
laws of the Jews of long standing and of evil 
influence, which he treated in a similar man- 
ner. He suffered them to remain, and either 
added restrictions to correct some of their 
evil influences, or left them to be regulated 
by the general spirit of his laws. Of these, 
were the law of retaliation, the law of di- 
vorce, and the law of concubinage all of them 
injurious in their effect upon general society, 
but so incorporated into all the habits of the 
community that it was not safe to abrogate 
them. 

That Moses saw the evils of slavery is 
manifest from the regulations, which he 
made in behalf of the Israelites who had 
themselves been slaves in Egypt. "If thy 
brother that dwelleth by thee," he says, "be 
waxen poor and be sold unto thee, thou shalt 
not compel him to serve as a bond servant, 
but as a hired servant and as a sojourner he 
shall be with thee and shall serve thee unto 
the year of Jubilee." (Lev. xxv. 39, 40.) 



6 LECTURE 1, 

There is a plain distinction between an He- 
brew, who through poverty had sold himself, 
or had been sold, and an ordinary slave, or 
bondservant. The Hebrew was to be treated 
with more lenity and as a hired servant. Ac- 
cording to Exodus 21, Chap, the Hebrew 
servant could not be retained but six years. 
On the seventh year he had his freedom. If 
he had sold himself, and wife, and family, they 
all obtained their freedom at the same time. 
If he was unmarried when he sold himself, 
and his master had given him one of his slaves 
for a wife, then he only obtained his free- 
dom at the end of six years; his wife and chil- 
dren still continued in bondage. An He- 
brew according to the laws of Moses, could 
not be retained in slavery even under its 
mildest form, longer than six years, except in 
the following instances. "If the servant," 
says Moses, '* shall plainly say Hove my mas- 
ter my wife, and my children I will not go 
out free : Then his master shall bring him 
to the judges, he shall also bring him to the 
door, or to the door post, and his master shall 
bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall 
serve him forever." (Ex. xxi. 5, 6.) A poor 
Hebrew might also sell himself and family to a 



LECTURE I. / 

stranger dwelling in the land. In that case it 
was the privilege of his near relatives to re- 
deem him. In case they failed to redeem him, 
lie obtained freedom for himself and family at 
the Jubilee. [Lev. xxi. 47, 54.) In no instance 
could a Hebrew remain in bondage more 
than six years except in the cases above re- 
fered to. 

Far different was the condition of the bond- 
men procured from the surrounding nations, 
and from the strangers, that dwelt in the land. 
The year of release, that set the Hebrew free 
made no change in their situation. They 
were to all intents and purposes slaves held 
to service in perpetuity. We are not to re- 
gard the law of Moses at the head of this dis- 
course as a new enactment on the subject of 
slavery, but simply as a recognition of the 
law, which he found already existing among 
the Jews and which had existed from time 
immemorial. This law he allows to stand 
just as he found it, with the exception of cer- 
tain restrictions, which could be safely added, 
and which would in some respects modify 
the rigor of its application. It seems quite 
evident from the modifications of the law in 

favor of the Israelites that previous to this a 
2 



S LECTURE I. 

Hebrew might be held in perpetual bondage, 
and be treated with rigor by a brother He- 
brew. In the exceptions to the general law, 
Moses delivered the Hebrew slave from per- 
petual bondage, and from rigourous treat- 
ment. But for this change in favor of the 
Jewish slave, it was necessary to assign a 
reason, which, to the nation at that day was 
probably satisfactory, and produced a ready 
acquiescence in the new arrangement. The 
reasonisin the following language; "For they 
are my servants, which I brought forth out 
of the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold 
as bond men" that is they shall not be sold 
into perpetual bondage. " Thou shalt not 
rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy 
God." (Lev. xxv. 42, 43, 55.) But this rea- 
son for a change in regard to the Hebrew 
slave did not apply in regard to other nations, 
hence Moses made no material change in the 
law in relation to them. 

I. According to the standing law on this 
subject which Moses recognizes, and incor- 
porates into his municipal regulations, the 
Jews mioht: 

1. Obtain slaves from the Heathen around 
them, and from the families of strangers who 



LECTURE I. 9 

dwelt among them, in the usual manner in 
which slaves were obtained. The manner 
in which persons became slaves shall be con- 
sidered under a second head. " Both thy 
bondmen, and thy bondmaids which thou 
shalt have shall be of the Heathen that are 
round about you, and of the children of 
the strangers that sojourn among you." 
Bond service answers precisely to our ideas 
of slavery, and is distinguished in the laws 
of Moses from free service which is called 
hired service, and was entitled to a remu- 
neration. In addition to bond servants, the 
Hebrews frequently employed hired ser- 
vants. The law in relation to these is laid 
down in the following terms. (Deu. xxiv. 14.) 
" Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that 
is poor and needy whether he be of thy breth- 
ren or of thy strangers that are in thy land 
within thy gates. At his day thou shalt give 
him his hire, neither shall the sun go down 
upon it, for he is poor and setteth his heart 
upon it: lest he cry unto the Lord against 
thee, and it be sin unto thee." 

2. The Hebrews misfhthold these bondmen 
and bondmaids as property, as a part of their 
possesion in perpetuity. " And they shall be 



10 lecture'i. 

your possession, they shall be your bondmen 
forever." These are the exact terms in which 
the law in relation to this point is expressed. 
Those of the Heathen under bond service to 
a Hebrew were just as much a part of his 
property as the land, which he inherited, or 
the flocks, which he owned, or the money, 
which he had laid up in his coffer. 

3. The Hebrews might transmit their bond- 
servants as a perpetual inheritance to their 
children. " And ye shall take them for an in- 
heritance for your children after you to inherit 
them for a possession ; they shall be your 
bondmen forever." No language could give 
a more definite and vivid description of slave- 
ry as it now is, and always has been, than that 
embraced in the above law, which Moses 
found existing amonsf the Hebrews and 
w r hich he permitted to remain, and become 
incorporate in their civil code. 

Having thus established the fact that the 
Jews were slaveholders, that they were so 
in common with other nations from time im- 
memorial, and that under the wise regulations 
of a divine lawgiver, they were still permit- 
ted to be slaveholders : 1 shall now inquire. 

II. Secondly how in ancient times men be- 



LECTURE [. II 

came subject to bondage. The law states 
that Hebrews might obtain bondmen of the 
Heathen roundabout them and of the famil- 
ies of the strangers that sojourned among 
them. To this statement there are some ex- 
ceptions. The Canaanites could not be held 
in slavery by the Hebrews. Slavery how- 
ever undesirable the condition of it may be, 
was a privilege, which under existing circum- 
stances, they might not enjoy. Such was 
their bad faith, the greatness of their num- 
bers, and their deep rooted idolatry, that had 
they been incorporated under any circum- 
stances into the Hebrew commonwealth, they 
would have endangered their existence as 
the people of God, Death or banishment was 
the only doom that awaited them. (com. Deu. 
xx. 16, 17,) Those of them who surreptitious- 
ly obtained a treaty of alliance with the Jews, 
were reduced to the condition of public or 
state slavery. And Joshua made them that 
day, hewers of wood, and drawers of water 
for the congregation, and for the altar of the 
Lord. (Josh. ix. 27.) 

The methods, in which men lost their free- 
dom in ancient times, were so various, that it 

would not be proper to assert of any one of 
2* 



12 LECTURE I. 

them, that it was the first, or chief occasion 
of slavery. All that can be safely done is to 
notice some of the principle ways in which 
they were brought into a state of bondage. 
1. Captivity in war. By many, this is sup- 
posed to have been the origin of slavery. 
Warfare in ancient times, and especially 
among people of savage habits, was cruel and 
exterminating. If the conquered were not 
all slain on the field of battle, if some of them 
were taken captive, they were usually reser- 
ved to a more lingering and bitter death. 
The era, therefore of reducing their captives 
to a state of bondage, instead of torturing 
them to death, marks an improvement in the 
■character of warfare. Reasons of state some- 
times require the extermination of an enemy. 
Thus Moses directs the Israelites to destroy 
all the male population of those cities against 
which they went to war in case they refused 
to make a peace, saving alive only the wo- 
man and little ones for bondage. (Deut. 
xx. 14, & 21. 10,) When a great number of 
captives were taken they were sometimes 
divided among the victors according to their 
rank, (Num. xxxi, 31,40.) sometimes sold at 
auction to the highest bidder and the avails 



LECTURE I. 13 

of the sale were put into the' public treasury, 

2. Debts were another occasion of sla- 
very, especially when they were so large, 
that the debtor was unable to pay them. 
Among the poor Hebrews a slavery of six 
years continuance from this cause often oc- 
curred. But when a Heathen sold himself 
to pay his debts there was no law for his re- 
lease, and his bondage would continue per- 
petually, unless limited by special contract. 
But if the amount owed was large, it would 
be seldom possible to obtain a contract limi- 
ting the term of service. (Nell, v. 4, 5,) 

3. Slavery was sometimes the conse- 
quence of theft. If the thief when taken was 
not able to restore the amount of property 
stolen, he was to be sold into bondage. [See 
Ex. xxii. 3.) 

4. Children, who were born of parents 
in slavery, themselves became slaves. (Ec- 
cle. ii. 7,) Thus Abraham had 118 born in 
his house, who as being more attached to his 
person than those bought with his money, 
were armed by him, and went with him to 
the slaughter of the Chaldean armies at Ho- 
bah. Abraham had many bondmen belong- 
ing to his family, some born in the house, and 



i4 LECTURE I. 

others bought with money of the stranger, as 
we learn from Gen. xxvii. 27. That slavery 
was the condition of those born of parents 
in bondage is manifest from the law in Ex. 
xxi. 4. in regard to the Hebrew slave, who 
went out free on the year of release, but 
could not take with him his wife, and chil- 
dren. " If his master have given him a wife, 
and she have borne him sons or daughters, 
the wife and her children shall be her mas- 
ter's, and he shall go out by himself." 

5. Multitudes became slaves by purchase. 
The opportunities of obtaining slaves for 
money were many. The Poverty of par- 
ents often induced them to sell their children. 
Thus many of the Jews through poverty had 
brought their sons and daughters into bon- 
dage in the days of Nehemiah from which 
they were unable to redeem them. (Nell. v. 
5.) In eastern countries the cupidity of par- 
ents frequently induced them to sell their 
children into bondage. And we need not 
wonder at this fact, when an inspired Apos- 
tle has informed us that Heathen parents are 
" without natural affection," and when our 
missionaries inform us that Heathen mothers 
^ften sacrifice their children in a most wan- 



LECTURE I. 



15- 



ten manner for money, or through the influ- 
ence of passion. A state of slavery in a well 
regulated family might be infinitely prefera- 
ble to the most unbounded liberty, under the 
corrupt influence of Heathen parents, where 
they they are subject to the loss of life at any 
moment from their ungovernable rage. In 
this way the Hebrews could obtain many 
bondmen and bondmaids from the heathen 
around them. There were enough of them at 
all times ready to sell their sons and daugh- 
ters for money. The captives of war were 
many, and were often put up at public auc- 
tion, and any man might for money purchase 
as many as he needed. Again in all coun- 
tries where slavery exists, and where slaves 
will command money, there will be a strong 
temptation to manstealing. Men strongly 
influenced with the love of money, will kid- 
nap an individual in time of peace, and sell 
him into slavery. Thus Joseph was sold by 
his brethren to the Ishmaelites, a case that 
comes as near man stealing as any thing that 
can be named. We want no stronger evi- 
dence, that the Israelites were slaveholders 
than is found in the severe enactments of 
Moses against man stealing, since that is a. 



\<j LECTURE I. 

crime that cannot be supposed to have exist- 
ence in a community, where slavery is not al- 
lowed. (Ex. xxi. 16. Deu. xxiv. 7. ) Slaves 
might be purchased occasionally from man- 
stealers, and the purchaser be ignorant of the 
fact, that the slave had been obtained in this 
forbidden way. Slaves in ancient times in 
the east, as they are at the present day, were 
articles of merchandize, and carried about by 
traders from nation to nation, and from city 
to city , like any other article of traffic. Thus 
the Ishmaelitish merchants purchased Joseph 
as readily as they would have done a box of 
frankincense, took him to Egypt, and found a 
ready sale for him. In this way slaves could 
often readily be obtained for money. In 
which of all these ways, Abraham obtained 
his bondmen we are not able to say, but that 
he had those in his family who were bought 
with money is distinctly affirmed. 

The price of a slave was different at dif- 
ferent times and varied, as it always must 
with age, sex, health, skill, and ability of the 
person sold. We may presume from Ex. xxi. 
32, that the medium price of a slave was 
thirty shekels. " If the ox shall push a man- 
servant, or a maidservant, he shall give their 



LECTURE I. 17 

master thirty shekels of silver and the ox 
shall be stoned." And from Lev. xxvii. 1, 5. 
we may form some estimation as to the differ- 
ence in value of a slave, at different periods 
of his life. 

Having noticed the fact that slavery exist- 
ed among the Jews, that Moses finding it es- 
tablished by immemorial usage, did not deem 
it advisable to abrogate the institution, but 
permitted it to remain under certain modifi- 
cations ; having also in several instances no- 
ticed the manner in which men were brought 
under bondage, I shall close the subject with 
a few remarks. 

1. We may see from our subject that God 
sees it not to be best that great changes in 
human society should be brought about sud- 
denly. If he had seen it to be best, he might 
have abrogated the institution of slavery 
among the Jews, which had grown up among 
them, and was incorporated with all their 
civil usages, from the time that Abraham 
their Father had been called out of Meso- 
potamia. God had a right to abrogate the 
institution, and was able to do it, and doubt- 
less would have done it, i f * he had seen it to 
be best. But to have done it, would have 



IS LECTURE I. 

been a change in the civil condition of a 
nation, sudden and violent, and calamitous, 
as such changes have ever proved themselves 
to be, and contrary to all his ordinary oper- 
ations in the natural, moral and political 
world. When God is about to punish a na- 
tion for their overgrown iniquities he allows 
sudden and violent changes to take place in 
their political condition, when they dash to- 
gether and are broken in pieces like a potters 
vessel. But it may be asked could not God 
have abolished the institution of slavery and 
have prevented the evils, that usually result 
from violent changes 1 He certainly could, 
had he seen fit to put forth an exhibition, of 
miraculous power. But God does not gov- 
ern the nations of the earth by miraculous 
power, but by ordinary laws. With the 
same propriety it might be asked could not 
God convert the whole world instantly with- 
out the tedious process of preaching the gos- 
pel to every creature, and thus at once heal 
all the woes of earth % He could certainly, 
were he to exert his omnipotence miraculous- 
ly. But God does not even convert the 
world to himself by miracle. It is by the 
foolishness of preaching that he saves them 



LECTURE I. 19 

that believe. God saw that a sudden abro- 
gation of a usage of such long standing would 
end in revolution, and anarchy, and ruin. 
Even the change that took place in their con- 
dition in leaving Egypt, and encamping in 
the wilderness though somewhat gradual, 
and under the outstretched arm of Jehovah, 
well nigh proved their ruin, and did prove the 
ruin of a whole generation of them. What 
might not have taken place, if an immemori- 
al usage entwining itself with all their do- 
mestic feelings had been suddenly abolish- 
ed ] We may well suppose that the whole 
nation would have become extinct. 

2. We are taught by our subject, that it is 
well to look to the consequences of any plan 
of action which is submitted to our adoption. 
Some have been pleased to say, with regard 
to this very subject of slavery that we must 
act regardless of consequences. Now where 
there is a clear, distinct and express exhibi- 
tion of God's will in regard to a specific duty, 
then we must act and leave the consequences 
with God. But when the plan of action is 
one of our own devising according to the best 
light, which we enjoy, then we are respon- 
sible for the consequences. And they must 
3 



20 LECTURE I. 

always be taken into view in the formation 
of our plan, or the result can be nothing but 
unmingled evil. Moses acting under the di- 
rection of God took into view the consequen- 
ces of abolishing sundry consuetudinary laws 
of the Jews, and he saw the consequences 
fraught with so much evil that he suffered 
the laws to remain with some few modifica- 
tions, as the least of the two evils. We 
must look to the consequences of every plan 
of action which we adopt, if we would avoid 
doing evil and involving ourselves in deep 
guilt before God. 



LECTURE II. 



CONDITION OF BOND-SERVANTS OR 
SLAVES, AMONG THE HEBREWS. 

GAL. iv. 1. 2. 3. 

"Now I say that the heir as long as he is a child, 
differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of 
all ; but is under tutors and governors until the time 
appointed of the Father. Even so we when we 
were children were in bondage under the elements of 
the world." 

The Apostle here institutes a comparison 
between a state of freedom, and a state of 
bond-service, or slavery. He affirms, that 
a child, though heir to the estate, differeth 
nothing during his minority from a bond-ser- 
vant. He has not the liberty of doing as he 
pleases, any more than a slave until he ar- 
rives at the appointed age, when he obtains 
his freedom. So the Jewish church while 
under the yoke of ceremonial observances 
was in a condition resembling slavery, when 
compared with the liberty of the gospel, 



22 LECTUKE II. 

which resembled the condition of freemen. 
To the minds of the Hebrews this compari- 
son was striking, for they, from time imme- 
morial, had been familiar with the differ- 
ence between a state of slavery and a state 
of freedom. 

The general condition of slaves in all ages 
of the world, and in all nations is very sim- 
ilar. Usually their food and clothing are of 
the poorest description. All their earnings 
belong to their master, and among the Jews 
in the days of Moses, the service of a slave 
was worth double that of a hired servant. In 
Deut. xv. 18, Moses speaking of a Hebrew 
slave about to obtain his freedom at the end 
of six years, and directing that he should 
have presents made to him, says, to the mas- 
ter ; " It shall not seem hard unto thee when 
thou sendest him away free, for he hath been 
worth a double hired servant to thee in ser- 
ving six year." His service was double in 
value for two reasons. First the original 
purchase money, which secured his labor for 
a term of years, fell far below the sum nec- 
essary to secure the labour of a hired servant 
during the same time. Secondly, though in 
many respects treated as a hired servant, yet 



LECTURE II. 23 

doubtless according to standing usage, his 
master might require more service of him. 
Slaves commonly had the consent of their 
masters to marry, or to connect themselves 
with a woman in that way, which is by a 
Latin law-term denominated contubernium. 
The children, that proceeded from this sort 
of marriage were not the property of the par- 
ents, but of their owners, and to distinguish 
them from those slaves, that were bought 
with money, they were denominated those, 
that were born in the house. They howev- 
er never addressed their owner, as father, 
but always as lord or master. This custom 
the Apostle refers to in Gal. iv. 6, in the fol- 
lowing language. " And because ye are sons, 
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into 
your hearts crying Abba, Father." Again 
Rom. viii. 15, " For ye have not received the 
spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have 
received the spirit of adoption whereby we 
cry, Abba, Father." Here by reference to a 
well understood and immemorial usage, he 
represents it as not being the privilege of 
bondmen cr slaves to call their master fath- 
er. This privilege belonged only to freer 

born sons. 

3* 



24 LECTURE II. 

Although the children born in his house 
were the slaves of the owner, yet anciently 
they were as devoted and as true to him, as 
though they had sustained to him the actual 
relation of children. This accounts for the 
fact, that Abraham felt it safe to trust them 
with arms and train them to war. And what 
he did in this respect doubtless others of the 
Patriarchs did also. These bondservants 
were expected to perform any service, which 
their master deemed it expedient to require 
of them, but their chief avocation was that 
of husbandry, and the tending of flocks and 
herds. The maidservants were usually em- 
ployed in domestic concerns. It was the 
special duty of some of these servants to wait 
upon their mistress, and of others upon their 
master. The condition of these was, in many 
respects, from the nature of their service, 
less hard than that of others. It may be pre- 
sumed however that every master, who had 
any sense of the duties, which every man 
owes to another whatever his condition, mani- 
fested to all his slaves kindness and humani- 
ty. This state of things seems to be refer- 
cd to by Job in the following language as 
what in his day was due, and expected from 



LECTURE II. 25 

the master towards his slaves : " If I did des- 
pise the cause of my manservant or my maid- 
servant when they contended with me, what 
then shall I do when God riseth up." (Job. 
xxxi. 13, 14.) 

Again the servant who was found to be 
most capable, faithful and discreet, was pla- 
ced over the others and called the steward. 
Thus Gen. xxiv. 2. "And Abraham said un- 
to his eldest servant of his house, that ruled 
over all that he had." Gen. xv. 2, "And 
Abraham said Lord God, what wilt thou give 
me, seeing 1 I go childless, and the steward of 
my house is this Eliezer of Damascus." This 
steward had the oversight of all the residue 
of the servants, appointed them their duties, 
provided for their subsistence, and managed 
all the details of business and for his faithful- 
ness herein was rewarded by a continuance 
in office. (Luke xii. 42.) 

Having thus glanced at the general condi- 
tion of slavery I shall now examine what the 
condition of it was under the laws of Moses. 
Moses in order to render the condition of 
those, who had lost their liberty as free from 
misery, and as favourable as possible, made 
the following regulation* 



26 LECTURE II. 

1. They were all to be circumcised. This 
though not an enactment of Moses was a 
standing law in Israel, which had come down 
to them from the days of Abraham their 
Father, and was adopted by Moses as a con- 
stituent part of Jewish law. The statute in 
this case is as follows. " And he that is eight 
days old shall be circumcised among you, 
every man child in your generation, he that 
is born in the house, or bought of money of 
any stranger that is not of thy seed." Such 
is the precept, and the following is the prac- 
tice. " In the self same day was Abraham 
circumcised, and Ishmaelhis Son, and all the 
men of his house, born in the house, and 
bought with money, of the stranger, were 
circumcised with him." (Gen, xvii.) These 
servants of Abraham were not to be consul- 
ted, whether they would receive the rite of 
circumcision, or not, whether they would 
receive it, or leave his service. The law is 
positive. They must be circumcised wil- 
ling or unwilling. This state of things shows 
us that they had no freedom of their own, 
even in matters of the highest concern. 
They belonged to Abraham's household and 
they must receive the seal of God's cove- 



LECTURE II. 27 

nant with him and his. And this rite in 
after ages was of special benefit to bondser- 
vants as it gave them the privilege of enjoy- 
ing the Jewish festivals, in which, no uncir- 
cumcised person might participate. In many 
instances no doubt, it had an excellent mor- 
al effect upon them in leading them to the 
worship of the true God. 

2. Moses enacted that slaves should be 
treated with humanity. The law in Lev. 
xxv. 39, 53, speaks expressly in relation to 
the treatment of slaves, who were of Hebrew 
origin, and of these only, but as the slave 
that were bought with money of the stran- 
ger, when once circumcised, were to be 
reckoned among the Hebrews it may be con- 
sidered as applying in some degree at least 
to them. 

3. Moses admits the right of the master to 
discipline and coerce his servant yet if he slew 
him with a rod, or by means of blows while 
correcting him, he was to be punished for it, 
but not capitally. " If a man smite his ser- 
vant or his maid with a rod and he die under 
his hand, he shall be surely punished." (Ex. 
xxi. 20,) Here evidently capital punishment 
is not intended, for in that case according to 



28 LECTURE II. 

the usage of Moses, the language, instead 
of" He shall surely be punished" would have 
been "He shall surely die." He shall surely 
be punished, indicates such punishment as 
the judge might determine in the case in 
view of all the circumstances, but not death. 
Further if the servant did not die under his 
hand, but continued two or three days and 
then died of his wounds, the master who beat 
him was not to be punished at all. "But" 
says Moses. (Ex. xxi. 21,) " Notwithstand- 
ing, if he continue a day or two he shall not be 
punished, for he is his money." In this case 
the design of murdering his servant could 
not be presumed, and, loss of the servant 
was considered in the light of a punishment* 
His servant is his money, and the loss of so 
much money is assigned as a reason, why he 
should not be punished when the servant died 
sometime after he was beaten. This makes 
it highly probable that the punishment inflict- 
ed in case the servant died under his hand 
Avas simply a punishment by fine, greater or 
less as the judges might determine. 

4. Moses also enacted, that, if a master in- 
jured his servant male or female in eye or 
Tooth, that is according to the spirit of the 



LECTURE II. 29 

law, in any member whatever, the servant in 
consequence of such treatment should re- 
ceive his freedom. [Ex. xxi. 26, 27,] "And 
if a man smite the eye of his servant or the 
eye of his maid, that it perish, he shall let 
him go free for his eye's sake." " And if he 
smite out his man servants tooth or his maid 
servants tooth, he shall let him go free for 
his tooth's sake." An admirable law this, 
and well calculated to restrain the violence 
of passion in the treatment of slaves. It pre- 
supposes the right of the master to use the 
rod for the infliction of punishment, but it 
prohibits him from maiming the person of 
his slave, under the penalty of loosing his 
services altogether. 

5. By the laws of Moses slaves were en- 
titled to rest on every sabbath. " The sev- 
enth day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God, 
in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor 
thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manser- 
vant, nor thy maidservant" and it is added in 
Deut. where the commandment is repeated, 
that " thy manservant and thy maidservant 
may rest as well as thou." They also had 
access to, and participated in all the Jewish 
festivals. They had therefore many seasons 



LECTURE. II. 30 

of rest and recreation during tlic year. 
Slaves among the Jews were in these respects 
in point of enjoyment far in advance of slaves 
among any other people. (Sec Duct. xii. 17, 
18, also Dent. xvi. 11.) " And thou shalt re- 
joice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy 
son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant and 
thy maidservant." When it is considered that 
these festivals among the Jews were not 
only seasons of recreation and enjoyment, 
but also seasons of worship and religious im- 
provement we must see, that the condition of 
slaves among them, was greatly ameliorated 
by the humane enactments of Moses. This 
custom of receiving slaves to the joys of 
their masters household on festival occasions 
is evidently referred in the 25th chapter of 
Math, in the parable of the talents distribu- 
ted. " And so he that had received the five 
talents came, and brought other five talents, 
saying Lord thou deliverest unto me five 
talents behold I have gained besides them 
live talents more. His Lord said unto him 
well done, thou good and faithful servant 
thou hast been faith fid over a few things, 
I will make thee a ruler over many things. 
cuter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Be- 



LECTUflE II. 31 

cause you have been faithful over a few 
things, your stewardship shall be increased, 
more shall be entrusted to your care, and 
you shall have the privilege of participating 
in all the joys of your master's family, on 
those festival occasions which God has ap- 
pointed for his people. 

6. Slaves by the laws of Moses were enti- 
tled to an adequate subsistence from those to 
whom they were subject. This is a fair and 
legitimate inference from the law in Deut. 25. 
4, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he 
treadeth out the corn." Here is a general 
principle inculcated by a reference to a par- 
ticular instance. This principle is applied by 
the Apostle in the l'st Ep. to the Cor. to the 
duty of furnishing adequate support for the 
ministry. And it doubtless was intended to 
apply with all its force to the condition of those 
in a state of servitude. If the Hebrews were 
bound to treat their dumb brutes with human- 
ity, much more were they bound to treat their 
bondservants with humanity, and furnish 
them with food and raiment necessary for 
their comfort. We may therefore safely con- 
clude, that slaves among the Jews were bet- 
4 



32 LECTURE. II. 

ter fed and better clad, than slaves among 
any other people. 

7. Finally slaves of Hebrew origin were 
allowed to possess some little property of 
their own. This may be inferred from Lev. 
xxv. 49. where Moses is speaking of a He- 
brew slave, who had sold himself to a stran- 
ger. Such a slave might be redeemed be- 
fore the year of Jubilee. " Either his uncle, 
or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any 
that is nigh of kin unto him, of his family, 
may redeem him, or if he be able he may re- 
deem himself." This supposes it possible, 
that he may even in a state of servitude ac- 
quire, and hold property of his own. And 
this privilege, of holding property of small 
amount as his own, which belonged to the 
Hebrew slave, was doubtless in process of 
time granted to slaves of foreign origin. — 
When they were faithful, indulgences of this 
kind would be granted to one and another 
as the reward of their faithfulness. By and 
by the privilege would become somewhat 
general as an incentive to faithfulness. In 
addition to holding property to some extent 
as his own, a slave mie:ht be the owner oi 



LECTURE II. 33 

slaves. Thus in the days of David, we find 
Ziba a bondservant of Saul, and constituted 
the steward of the estate of Mephibosheth, 
holding in his own right twenty persons in a 
state of slavery. And manifestly if a slave 
might have any property as his own, he might 
hold slaves for they were by the existing 
laws viewed in the light of property. 

Such as the above were the regulations 
made by Moses to ameliorate the condition of 
those in bondage amonsr the Jews. Let it 
be borne in mind, that Moses did not originate 
this system of bond-service. He found it 
existing among the people. He simply reg- 
ulated it, and softened its rigors, as much as 
the existing state of things would allow. 
By these laws of Moses, it is seen that the 
condition of the Hebrew slave w r as in many 
respects less rigorous than that of foreign 
slaves. The Hebrew could not be held to 
servitude longer than six years. On the Sa- 
batical year he always obtained his freedom, 
that is to say, the beginning of the seventh 
year from the time he commenced his service, 
was to him a Sabatical year, the year of his 
release. Again in the year of Jubilee all 
Hebrew slaves obtained their freedom. It 



34 LECTEUR II. 

made no difference, whether the slave had 
commenced his service six years before, or 
five, or four, or three, or two, or one, on the 
year of Jubilee, he obtained his freedom. — 
To this general law there was one exception 
already alluded to, where the slave at the 
close of six years for reasons assigned, refu- 
sed to accept his freedom, and voluntarily 
submitted to a ceremony, which made him 
a slave during life. 

The condition however of foreign slaves 
was very different. The law made no pro- 
vision for their release, nor for the release of 
their children from bondage. They were 
held as property, and transmitted with the 
estate from father to son, and their bondage 
was perpetual, unless the master saw fit 
to manumit, a case, that doubtless occurred 
sometimes in reference to individuals, as a 
reward for eminent services. And Moses 
did not prohibit manumission, neither did he 
enjoin it. 

The salutary laws of Moses however in 
favor of the Hebrew slave, after a little went 
into desuetude, and the Hebrew master insis- 
ted upon holding his Hebrew servant in a 
state of bondage, just in the same manner as 



LECTURE N. 35 

he held the foreign slave. This state of 
things is noticed in the 34th. chap of Jere- 
miah beginning with the Sth aerse. "This 
is the word of the Lord that came to Jere- 
miah from the Lord, after that king Zedekiah 
had made a covenant with all the people 
which dwelt at Jerusalem to proclaim liber- 
ty unto them, that every man should let his 
man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, 
being a Hebrew, or a Hebrewess, go free, 
that none should serve himself of them, to- 
wit of a Jew, his brother. Now when the 
princes and all the people, which had enter- 
ed into the covenant, heard that every man 
should let his man-servant, and every one 
his maid-servant go free, that none should 
serve themselves of them any more, then 
they obeyed, and let them go." This act 
of justice, was extorted from the Jews in a 
season of threatened calamity, when the judg- 
ments of God were hanging over the city. 
But they soon repented of the good, which 
they had done. "But afterwards" says the 
prophet "they turned and caused the seravnts 
and the handmaidens, whom they had let go 
free, to return, and brought them into sub- 
jection for servants and for handmaids." 



36 LECTURE II. 

''Therefore the word of the Lord came to 
Jeremiah from the Lord, saying. Thus 
saith the Lord, the God of Israel ; I made 
a covenant with your fathers in the day that I 
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, 
out of the house of bondage, saying, at the 
end of seven years let ye go every man his 
brother a Hebrew, which hath been sold un- 
to thee ; and when he hath served thee six 
years thou shall let him go free from thee ; 
but your fathers hearkened not unto me neith- 
er inclined their ear." The fact here disclos- 
ed may serve to show us how difficult it is to 
change long standing usages in a nation, how- 
ever just and equitable the change may be. 
Previous to their coming out of Egypt the 
Hebrew who had been reduced to a state of 
bondage found no release from his servile 
condition. In view of their redemption from 
national bondage, Moses instituted laws in 
favour of the Hebrew slave securing his free- 
dom at the end of six years. This law ap- 
peared to be acquiesed in at the time, and 
might have been observed for a short season; 
how long we know not. But the nation soon 
relapsed into their former usage. "Your fa- 
thers hearkened not unto me neither inclined 



LECTURE II. 37 

their ear." "And ye were now turned,'* 
says the prophet referring to the forecited 
transaction, "and had done right in my sight, 
in proclaiming liberty every man to his neigh- 
bour ; and ye had made a covenant before 
me in the house which is called by my name : 
But ye turned and polluted my name, and 
caused every man his servant, and every 
man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liber- 
ty at their pleasure, to return, and brought 
the in into subjection, to be unto you for ser- 
vants and for handmaids." 

In view of the above recited facts, it may 
be remarked that God does not censure the 
Jews for holding in bondage foreigners, but 
Hebrews contrary to the express enactments 
of the Mosaic law in their favor. Nor is the 
censure for holding Hebrews in a state of 
of slavery for six years, for this they might 
do, but for holding them in perpetual slavery. 
This was a violation of express law, and 
throughout the prophets, where the Jews 
are reproved for holding men in perpetual 
servitude, it is the perpetual slavery of the 
Hebrews which is the subject of complaint, 
and denunciation. Of the nations around 
them, they might procure bondmen and 



38 LECTURE II. 

bondwomen, and retain them in a state of 
perpetual servitude. They had an express 
law to that effect. And any construction of 
prophetic language, which would torture it 
into a censure against the Jews for holding 
servants of this description, is not, and can- 
not be the meaning of the prophet, nor the 
mind of God. Such a construction arrays 
scripture against scripture, which is not only 
absurd but blasphemous. 

1. From the foregoing considerations we 
see further evidence, if further evidence 
were necessary, that the Jews as well as 
other nations, held persons in slavery, in a 
state of perpetual bondage, and that the per- 
sons so held were by them, and by the law, 
viewed in the light o^property. The slave, 
says Moses is his money. It is important 
however, that we bear in mind that Moses 
did not institute slavery among the Jews. 
The institution had existed from time imme- 
morial, and was incorporated into all the 
frame-work of society. The institution could 
not be abolished without destroying the na- 
tion. Of the two evils the least was chosen. 
Slavery was suffered to continue. 

2. We see the benevolence of God mani- 



LECTURE II. 39 

fest in the regulations made in favor of those 
in bondage among the Jews. A seventh 
portion of their time was given to them as a 
season of rest from their labors, a solace, of 
which slaves amon^ other nations knew no- 
thing. Then on the great national festivals, 
which were of frequent occurrence, the 
slaves were by express law, invited and al- 
lowed to partake in the recreations and en- 
joyments of their master's family. These 
added very considerably to the solace and 
comfort of their condition. Again all slaves, 
who were born in the house or bought with 
money were circumcised. This gave them 
access to the religious privileges enjoyed by 
the nation. And doubtless also the master 
who procured his slave to be circumcised, 
brought himself under a covenant obligation 
to instruct him in the true religion. This 
might be inferred from what is said of Abra- 
ham in relation to his household. " For I 
knew him" says the blessed God, "that he 
will command his children and his household 
after him, and they shall keep the way of 
the Lord, to do justice and judgment." And 
the result of Abraham's instruction of his 
household, appears in the character of his 



40 LECTURE II. 

steward, whom he despatched to Mesopota- 
mia on an important mission. He appears 
to have been eminently pious, and conscious- 
ly faithful to his master Abraham. The re- 
sult of such instruction by the master of a 
household, is seen to advantage, in the inter- 
course of Boaz with his servants. As he 
approaches them in the prosecution of their 
daily labors, he says " the Lord be with you." 
Their reply to his kind salutation, is, "the 
Lord bless you." That all the bond-servants 
were as well instructed, and as kindly treat- 
ed, as in the two instances here referred to, 
there is probably no warrant for believing. 
Yet doubtless, thousands and thousands of 
the heathen were eternally benefitted by 
being brought into a state of slavery among 
the Jews. They there had an opportunity 
of becoming acquainted with the true God, 
and of learning the way of salvation through 
a Redeemer. This however is no evidence 
that God approves of slavery in itself con- 
sidered, but simply that he is able and often 
does, bring good out of evil. 



LECTURE III. 



THE STATE OF SLAVERY IN THE TIME 
OF OUR SAVIOUR, AND HIS APOSTLES. 

1 COR. vii. 20. 21. 

" Let every man abide in the same calling wherein 
he was called. Art thou called being a servant? 
Care not for it; but if thou mayst be made free, use 
it rather." 

" Corinth was lonsf the chief slave mart 
of Greece, and from its situation was likely to 
have much communication with Brundusium 
and the other ports on the eastern side of It- 
aly. Tima?us perhaps with some exagera- 
tion asserts, that Corinth, had, in early times 
before Athens had reached her supremacy, 
460,000 slaves. They were distinguished 
by the name of "chamix" measures. Many 
of them doubtless embraced the gospel, when 
preached by Paul, Apolos, and others. From 
the language employed by Paul in desribing 
the social condition of the Corinthian con- 



42 LECTURE III. 

verts, as well as from the developement of 
the particular vices, to which they were ex- 
posed, we reasonably infer that many slaves 
were converts." (Bib. Rep. Vol. 6. 429.) 
From the language of the Apostle in the text, 
it is evident beyond a question, that the civil 
condition of some at least of the Corinthian 
converts was that of slavery. From this 
language alone it might reasonably be infer- 
red that slavery did exist in the time of our 
Saviour and his Apostles. To ascertain what 
are the facts in the case I invite your atten- 
tion. 

I. To a brief survey of the state of slavery 
in the Roman empire at the time of our Sa- 
viour's advent. 

II. To an inquiry into the state of slavery 
among the Jews at the same period. 

1. Let us then take a brief survey of the 
state of slavery in the Roman empire at the 
time of our Saviour's advent. The Roman 
empire was at this time at the zenith of its 
power. Did slavery exist among the Ro- 
mans 1 Long before the days of Moses the 
civil condition of a large portion of the hu- 
man family was that of slavery. Such con- 
tinued to be their condition during his time, 



LECTURE III. 43 

and for ages after, even among the Jews, 
who of all nations were alone in the poss- 
ession of those moral institutes, which look- 
ed to the eventual abolition of slavery, and 
tended to ameliorate its hardships. And if it 
continued with the Jews among whom alone, 
there was an element in oDeration designed 
in the end to correct the evil, much more may 
we presume, that it still continued among 
other nations. And when we look into the 
history of Rome the existence of slavery is 
quite as prominent a fact as the existence of 
the empire itself. 

On this subject I shall quote somewhat 
freely from a carefully prepared article in 
the Bib. Rep. for 1S35. Vol. 6. The writer 
say : " If we allow two slaves to each Roman, 
an average below, that of some Grecian cit- 
ies, we should not in that case, take into the 
account those slaves, who were the property 
of the various orders of freed men, or those, 
who belonged to other slaves. Rich citizens 
were very extensive owners of slaves, kept 
both for luxury and for profit, as domestics of 
citizens in town, and as labourers on the vast 
estates in the provinces. Some rich individ- 
uals are said to have possessed 10,000, and 



44 LECTURE II!. 

even 20,000, of their fellow creatures. Sen- 
eca says that the freed-man of Pompey was 
richer than his Master. The number of 
slaves that daily surrounded him was like 
the army of a general. The slaves of Cras- 
sus formed a large part of his fortune. His 
architects and masons alone exceeded 500. 
Scaurus possessed above 4000 domestic and 
as many rural slaves. — It was fashionable to 
go abroad attended by a large number of 
slaves. (Horace L. 1. Sat. 3. v. 11.) Augus- 
tus prohibited exiles from carrying with them 
more than 20 slaves." 

Besides the immense number of slaves 
owned by individuals, the state and corporate 
bodies possessed many. Many of the public 
works among the Romans were constructed 
by slave labour, and six hundred were em- 
ployed to guard against fires in the city of 
Rome itself. 

" From the time of Augustus to Justinian, 
we may allow three slaves to one freeman, 
we shall thus have a free population in Italy 
of 6,944,000, and of slaves 20,832,000, total 
27,776,000. After weighing every circum- 
stance, which could influence the balance, 
says Gibbon, it seems probable that there 



LECTURE III. 45 

existed in the time of Claudius about twice 
as many provincials as there were citizens 
of either sex, and of every age, and that the 
slaves were at least equal in number to the 
free inhabitants of the Roman world." 

The slaves were acquired in the usual man- 
ner by war, by commerce, by the operation 
of law, and by being born in a state of sla- 
very. These seem to have been the com- 
mon modes of acquiring slaves and of per- 
petuating slavery in every age of the world. 
These slaves were acquired from all nations, 
and from all ranks in society. The vicisi- 
tudes of war, the most prolific source of sla- 
very, had no respect to nation, tribe, condi- 
tion, age, or sex. We shall labour under 
a grand mistake, if we identify slavery with 
the colored race. Men of all colors, of all 
nations, of all grades, and of all conditions, 
have at various times been subject to bond- 
age. 

The condition of slaves under the Roman 
laws was anything but desirable. "All 
slaves," say these laws, " are in the power of 
their masters, which power is derived from 
the law of nations, for it is equally observa- 
ble among all nations, that the masters have 



46 LECTURE III. 

had the power of life and death over their 
slaves, and that whatsoever is acquired by 
the slave is acquired for the master. What- 
ever our slaves hzve acquired at any time, 
whether by delivery, stipulation, donation or 
bequest, or any other means, the same is re- 
puted to be acquired by ourselves ; for he 
who is a slave can have no property. Mas- 
ters acquire by their slaves not only the pro- 
perty of things but also the possession." 
(Bib. Rep. Vol, 6, p. 419.) Neither a slave, 
nor a freed man who had been a slave, were 
capable of the marriage relation. They 
might contract alliances, which were denom- 
inated contubernia but could not enter those 
of matrimony. The law affirms that manu- 
mission does not change the state of a slave, 
because he had before manumission no state 
or civil condition." The Roman laws, it 
will be seen, stript the slave of all civil im- 
munities and delivered him over to the will 
of his master. 

However wretched and forlorn his condi- 
tion in law, it was still more so in fact by com- 
mon usa^e. " The labourers on a farm were 
shut up at night in a building called a work- 
house, but which rather resembled a prison. 



LECTURE III. 47 

Each slave had a separate cell. Some mas- 
ters allowed well disposed slaves to be bet- 
ter lodged than others. Suetonius informs 
us, that it had become so common to expose 
sick slaves on the Isle of Esculapius in the 
Tiber, that Claudius enacted a law to pre- 
vent the barbarity." "The obedience of 
slaves was enforced by severe discipline. 
The masters availed themselves of the lati- 
tude of the law in this respect to the utmost 
extent. A blow with the hand was a very 
ready discipline. The lash and rod were 
in frequent use." Whips, and thongs were 
not the most dreadful instruments of punish- 
ment. Burning alive is mentioned as a pun- 
ishment in the Pandects and elsewhere. Cru- 
el masters sometimes hired torturers by pro- 
fession, or kept such persons in their estab- 
lishments to assist them in punishing their 
slaves, or in extorting confessions from them, 
and horrible torments were employed for 
these purposes. The noses, ears, teeth or 
even eyes, were in great danger from an en- 
raged master. Crucifixion was frequently 
made the fate of a wretched slave for trifle- 
ing misconduct or from mere caprice. Slaves 

were valued only so far as thev represented 
5* 



48 LECTURE III. 

money. Hortensius cared less for the health 
of his slaves than for that of his fish, and Ve- 
dius Pollio actually fed his fish with the flesh 
of his slaves. 

From this brief survey we may easily im- 
agine what horrible atrocities were perpetra- 
ted against the defenceless slave population 
of the Roman Empire. Thrown entirely out 
from under the protection of law they were 
delivered over to the will and caprice of their 
masters. Under these often cruel and fero- 
cious tyrants, their sufferings must have 
been at all times great, often intolerable and 
unutterable. But the poor slave had no one 
to write the history of his wrongs, to count 
the number of his groans, or measure the 
ocean of his tears. Though earth has made 
no record from which we can arrive at a 
knowledge of all the facts, heaven has a book 
fully written out. And on the day of doom 
developements will be made of individual 
sufferings, which will be astounding to intel- 
ligent minds. 

Such as above was the condition of the 
Roman empire in regard to slavery when our 
Saviour appeared in the world. At this era 
slavery seems to have reached its highest 



LECTURE III. 49 

point of enormity. No part of the empire 
was free from the evil. 

2. I proceed in the second place to inquire 
respecting slavery among the Jews at this 
time. 

Were the Jews themselves slave-holders 
at the period when our Saviour became in- 
carnate 1 Before proceeding to answer this 
question I wish to make one general remark, 
which may aid us somewhat in our inquiries. 
In slave-holding communities the term slave 
is not the common and ordinary appellation 
by which those in bondage are designated. 
It is the term by which their condition is us- 
ually pointed out, but not the term which 
marks the nature of their employment. The 
term, which indicates their employment, is 
servant, and by this it is that they are more 
frequently designated. 

It may be presumed that the Jews were 
slave-holders. The law of Moses which 
gave them the privilege of holding slaves had 
never been abrogated. And there is no in- 
timation in history that the nation as such, 
had declined availing themselves of that priv- 
ilege. We do find however that when they 
returned from the captivity of Babylon, they 



£0 lecture nr. 

brought along with them a large number of 
slaves. The whole congregation says Ezra, 
was 42, 360, besides their servants and their 
maids, of whom there were 7,337. That 
these servants and maids were slaves is mani- 
fest from the fact, that they are enumerated 
as an order distinct from the congregation. 
A hired servant of Hebrew origin could not 
be the property of any one, could not be 
enumerated in a distinct class, but must have 
been reckoned as belonging to the congrega- 
tion. That slavery existed among the Jews 
after their return from captivity is clear from 
the reference which the prophet Malachi 
makes to it as a matter well understood a- 
mong them in his day. (Mai. i. 6.) " A son 
honoreth his Father, and a servant his master. 
If I then be a father where is mine honor % 
And if I Ipe a master where is my fear? 
saith the Lord of Hosts." Here it is stated to 
be the duty of a servant to fear his master, 
which implies that the master had a right to 
control him, and might punish him in case of 
disobedience. But such a representation is 
wholly inapplicable to the relation, which 
subsists between a hired labourer and his em- 
ployer, 



LECTURE III. 51 

Though slavery existed among the Jews 
after their return from captivity, it was much 
milder in its character than the slavery of 
other nations. Among the Jews the slave 
was placed in some measure under the pro- 
tection of law, and excessive cruelty in mas- 
ters was restrained. Add to this there was 
a general tendency in the Mosaic institutions 
to ameliorate the condition of bond servants. 
The high and holy principles of the moral 
law would not fail of having a very consider- 
able influence upon the tone of national feel- 
ing, and of diffusing over the public mind in 
some degree a spirit of kindness. In just 
so far as this was the case, the condition of 
bond-servants would be generally improved- 
But whatever may have been their condition, 
there is abundant evidence that Slavery exis- 
ted among the Jews in the days of our Sa- 
viour. 

The mode of teaching adopted by our 
blessed Lord during his personal ministry, 
led him to draw his illustrations from objects 
with which the people were familiar, and 
from things with which they were constantly 
conversant. He often refers to the institu- 
tion of slavery to illustrate some great princi- 



52 LECTURE IU. 

pie of duty. If slavery did not exist, among 
them, as it had done in the days of Abraham 
and Moses, if the people were unacquainted 
with the character of the institution, then, in 
these instances at least, he departed from 
his usual method of communicating instruc- 
tion, and the truth which he designed to il- 
lustrate must have failed of appearing in that 
strong light which he was accustomed to 
throw around all his communications. There 
was the same state of things among the 
Jews at this time that existed in the days of 
Moses. They employed slave-labor and 
free labor. Thus in 20th Chap of Matt, our 
Saviour represents a house-holder as going 
into the market-place and hiring laborers to 
be employed in his vineyard for a penny a 
day. Again, the prodigal son says, " How 
many hired servants in my father's house 
have bread enough and to spare." He does 
not say that there were no bond-servants in 
his Father's house, but simply that he a son, 
in consequence of his wandering and prodi- 
gal habits had reduced himself to a condi- 
tion worse than that of many of his Father's 
hired servants. From these references it is 
mite evident, that the practice of hiring 



lecture nr. 53 

men by the Jay or for a longer period for a 
stipulated sum as a remuneration for their 
services, was common among the Jews at 
this time. That bond-service, or slave la- 
bour was also common among them at this 
time, and that they were familiar with the 
nature of such service is quite as evident be- 
cause it is frequently referred to both inci- 
dentally and directly for illustration. 

Take the following from 12th chap. Luke 
" And the Lord said, who then is that faithful 
and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make 
ruler over his household to give them their 
portion of meat in due season. Blessed is 
that servant, whom, his Lord when he Com- 
eth, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto 
you, he will make him ruler over all that he 
hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, 
my lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin 
to beat the men-servants and the maidens, 
and to eat and to drink and to be drunken, 
the Lord of that servant will come in a day 
when he looketh not for him, and at an hour 
when he is not aware and will cut him in 
sunder and will appoint him his portion with 
the unbelievers'' or with the unfaithful. The 
reference here plainly is, to a slave establisl 



54 LECTURE III. 

ment, such as existed at that time among the 
Jews. Here is the steward appointed over 
the house-hold. It is just a copy of the stew- 
ard of Abraham's house-hold. The eldest 
servant of Abraham ruled over all that he 
had. So here the faithful and wise steward 
is made ruler over the house-hold to give 
them their portion of meat in due season. 
And this chief servant had under his direc- 
tion the men-servants and maidens of the 
house-hold. It is j ust the picture of a family 
of slaves with a steward appointed over them, 
not only to give them their food in due sea- 
son but to assign to each his proper employ- 
ment. 

Again Math. xxv. 14. — "For the kingdom 
of heaven is as a man travelling into a far 
country, who called his own servants, and 
delivered unto them his goods and to one 
he gave live talents, to another two and to 
another one, to every man according to his 
several ability, and straitway took his jour- 
ney." Here the reference is clearly to a slave 
establishment. In the first place, it is ex- 
pressly said that they are his own servants, 
they belong to him, they are his propertv. 
In the next place, the whole frame work of 



LECTURE in. 55 

the parable shows that they are his property. 
They are not asked whether they are willing 
to receive these talents. They are distribu- 
ted to them and they are required to receive 
them. Not only this, they are required to 
improve them, and return them again to their 
master with all the increase, that resulted 
from such improvement. And the individ- 
ual, who chose not to act according; to direc- 
tions, was severely punished for dereliction 
of duty. Now is this the way to treat free- 
men 1 What rich man about to journey 
would have a right to come and thrust his 
money upon free labourers require them to 
employ it for his benefit and at his return re- 
quire them to pay over the original sum not 
only, but all that had been made out of it ? 
And if one of these free men should not choose 
to leave his own business and employ him- 
self for the benefit of another what right 
would that other have, to call him to an ac- 
count and punish him because he saw fit to 
mind his own business 1 Verily on the sup- 
position that these were freemen the whole 
representation is absurd. But they were not 
free. Tien. They were the bond-servants of 
this lord, and thev were under obligation to 



56 LECTURE III. 

receive, and improve the property, which he 
entrusted to their care, and he had a right 
by existing laws to call them to an account, 
and punish them for a failure in their duty. 
This view of the subject makes the whole 
structure of the parable consistent and ap- 
propriate, and a striking illustration of the 
important truth which our Lord designed to 
convey to the mind. 

Once more in Luke xix. 12, 13. we have 
the institution of slavery again referred to for 
the purpose of illustration. A certain noble- 
man about to go into a distant country, to 
receive to himself a kingdom, and to return, 
calls his ten servants and delivers to them ten 
pounds, and says to them occupy till I come. 
At his return he calls them to an account, 
and punishes the servant, who had failed to 
obey his directions. This whole representa- 
tion is utterly at variance with the idea, that 
these was merely hired servants that they 
were their own masters, and could do as they 
pleased. They evidently were not. They 
were slaves, who were under obligations to 
do the bidding of their master. If they 
obeyed his will they secured his approbation, 
and obtained such rewards for their good 



LECTURE III, 57 

conduct as was usual for faithful and trust- 
worthy bond-servants. If they failed in obe- 
dience they were liable to such punishment 
as their master saw fit to inflict upon them. 
No other relation in the social and civil 
condition of man, than that of a bond-servant 
to his master, could furnish so striking an 
illustration of the absolute supremacy of God 
over all human beings, and of their obliga- 
tions to render to him the whole service of 
their heart and lives. Jesus Christ found 
bond-service existing among the Jews, as a 
civil institution, and he frequently referred 
to it as an apt and striking illustration of 
God's dominion over us, and of our obliga- 
tion to him. But the mere fact that our bles- 
sed Lord referred to slavery as an existing 
institution, for the purpose of illustration, 
is no evidence that he approved of slavery, 
any more than his commendation of the pru- 
dence of the unjust steward, is evidence that 
he approved of his injustice and fraud, or 
that he approved of the moral character of 
the scribes and pharasees when he command- 
ed his disciples to observe and do all what- 
soever they bid them, or that he approved 
of all the principles of the Romnn govern- 



58 LECTURE III. 

merit, when he said "render unto Caesar the 
things that are Caesar's," or that he approved 
of the spirit and usages of war, when he re- 
ferred to it for the purpose of illustrating 
truth. From the spirit, and tendency of the 
gospel, which he preached, we have a right 
to infer that our Saviour did not approve of 
slavery, or war, or any evil, incident to the 
civil institutions of men. The gospel is cal- 
culated and designed to heal all the evils in 
the civil condition of man, not by any direct 
interference with human laws, and longstand- 
ing usages, but by rectifying the heart, and 
indirectly through the heart, regulating all 
intercourse in the relations of life, accord- 
ing to the principles of righteousness. The 
nature, and design, and tendency, of the 
gospel are fully expressed in the angelic an- 
nunciation : " Glory to God in the highest, and 
on earth peace, good will to men." Wars 
will cease from under heaven, slavery will 
be done away, and every other evil that af- 
fects the race. But these evils will only be 
reached through the medium of a renovated 
and sanctified heart. The gospel does not 
propose to reach them in any other way. — 
First make the heart right with God, and then 



LECTURE III. 59 

it will be right towards man. And always 
in proportion as the hearts of men are brought 
under the benign influences of the gospel, 
and as the public mind becomes levened 
with its spirit, the domestic, the social, and 
the civil condition of man is improved, — 
These are facts in the history of the gospel 
of so prominent a character, that we are 
warranted in believing, that if the heart of 
the world were thoroughly pervaded by its 
spirit, and undei its heavenly influence, no- 
thing would offend in all God's holy moun- 
tain, and the earth would then be so moral- 
ly elevated, that it w T ould be a holy moun- 
tain the dwelling place of God. Every 
thing therefore in the condition of human 
beings, which the gospel is calculated and 
designed to remove, we may consider a mat- 
ter, which Jesus Christ does not approve, 
for if he approves it, why does he remove it. 
Hence though our Saviour alludes to the in- 
stitution of slavery and the usages of war 
for the purpose of illustrating truth, such al- 
lusions furnish no evidence that he approves 
of either war or slavery. The proceeding 
remarks I think establish the fact with suffi- 
cient clearness that slavery did exist at the 
*6 



60 LECTURE III. 

time of our Saviour's advent both among the 
Romans and among the Jews. Indeed there 
can be no question on the subject, for the 
evidence is abundant and of such a charac- 
ter that it cannot be disputed. 

1. In closing I may be permitted to call 
your attention to the difference in slavery as 
it existed among the Romans, and among the 
Jews. The condition of the Roman slave 
was miserable almost beyond a parallel. — 
He was perfectly under the control of his 
master, who had the power of life and death 
over him. He was beaten, he was scourged, 
he was tortured, he was maimed, he was 
burned to death, he was crucified at the will 
of his master. The law made no provision 
for him, threw no protection around him. 
Even when emancipated he did not become 
a citizen, he had no state or civil condition. 
The Jewish slave on the other hand, was 
comfortably fed and clothed, was placed 
under the protection of law, had a seventh 
portion of his time for rest, partook of the joys 
of the national festivals, and though subject 
to correction, its violence was restrained, and 
his person might not be maimed. The dif- 
ference in favor of the Jewish slave is alto- 



LECTURE III. 61 

gether owing to the benevolence of divine 
revelation. Wherever it is enjoyed, the con- 
dition of all classes in the community is made 
better by it. Divine revelation embracing 
the law and the gospel, is the only sovereign 
antidote to human woe. 

2. Hence I remark secondly, that we 
should desire most earnestly and fervently to 
have the gospel preached, and to see it uni- 
versally prevail, in all slave-holding commun- 
ities. Just in proportion as it prevails, and its 
kindly spirit pervades the public mind, in the 
same proportion the condition of the poor 
slave is ameliorated, and the morning of his 
emancipation approaches. The gospel of 
Christ is the only hope of the slave, in regard 
to his civil condition. How careful should ev- 
ery man be, who wishes well to the slave, to 
do nothing which in the remotest degree* 
would have a tendency to prejudice slave 
owners against the gospel. Any expression 
of unkind feeling toward them, any bestow- 
ment of harsh and illiberal epithets upon them, 
any threat of withdrawing christian courtesy 
and fellowship from them, while it offends 
the intelligent christian, will bar thousands of 
impenitent minds, who sustain the relation 



62 LECTURE III. 

of masters, against the gospel of Christ, and 
should be most religiously avoided. To 
pursue such a course is to cut off the consola- 
tions of religion from the bosom of the slave 
for time being, and put far away the day of 
his final deliverance. If slave-holding com- 
munities become throughly embued with the 
spirit of Christianity, the abolition of slavery 
by the voluntary action of slaveholders them- 
selves, is just as certain, as that the gospel 
breaths peace on earth, and good will to 
man. But until that day, the world will 
never see slavery abolished. A tyrant pow- 
er may change the form of servitude, and 
baptize it with a new name, but the thing it- 
self will still remain. It can never be done 
away by force. Let all the physical power 
upon earth bear directly upon it, and it will 
still remain. Nothing but the spirit of Christ 
pervading, and controlling the hearts of men, 
will banish this evil out of the world. He 
and he "alone, who does the most to spread 
the gospel far and wide, to extend the em- 
pire of holiness over human hearts, does the 
most for the abolition of slavery, and all other 
evils, that affect our suffering race. May 
(hat day speedily arrive, when all shall know 



LECTURE HI. 



63 



the Lord from the least even unto the great- 
est, and when nothing shnll offend in all God's 
holv mountain. 



LECTURE IV. 

HOW DID OUR SAVIOUR AND HIS APOS- 
TLES, TREAT THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY? 

JOHN xviii. 36. 

w Jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world." 

It is a remarkable fact, and one that de- 
serves serious consideration, that though our 
blessed Saviour, lived amidst the institutions 
of slavery, yet from any thing that he said 
on the subject during the whole course of 
his personal ministry, had he not frequently 
alluded to it for illustration, we never would 
have learned that slavery existed among the 
Jews. He alludes to it as an existing civil 
institution with which, the minds of the peo- 
ple were perfectly familiar, just in the man- 
ner and for a similar purpose that he alludes 
to the known practice of warfare. " "What 
king saith he, going to war a^gainst another 
king, sitteth not down first and counteth 



66 LECTURE IV. 

whether he be able with ten thousand men 
to meet him that cometh asrainst him with 
twenty thousand, or else while the other is 
yet a great way off he sendeth an ambassage, 
and desireth conditions of peace." Here 
for the purpose of illustrating - truth, he re- 
fers to warfare as a well known usage among 
the nations of the earth. Neither when the 
allusion is made to slavery or war, does he 
say a word either for or against them as ex- 
isting usages. He simply refers to them for 
purposes of illustration. No unprejudiced 
mind can doubt for a moment that our Sa- 
viour alludes to slavery in the New Testa- 
ment. The pictures there drawn, are the 
pictures of slave establishments, and of no 
other. No man in his sober senses, can en- 
tertain the belief for a single instant, that any 
great man, lord or noble has a right to call 
before him a number of freemen, distribute 
his property among them, order them au- 
thoratively to employ it for his benefit during 
a specified season, and at the end of that 
term render him a strict account of the man- 
ner in which they had employed it not only, 
but to render back to him the original sum 
together with all that had been acquired by 






LECTURE IV. 67 

the use of it. Much less, if any one of them 
choose to pursue his own business, neglect 
to employ the money given him, and return 
it again at the end of the specified term just 
as he had received it : I say much less 
would that lord in this case have a ri^ht to 
inflict a severe punishment upon the sup- 
posed delinquent. The whole representa- 
tion is entirely at variance with all our ideas 
of freedom. But if these servants were 
slaves, the property of their lord, then they 
were according to existing laws, under ob- 
ligation to receive just what money he was 
pleased to distribute among them, to employ 
it just as he directed, and to render him a 
strict account of their conduct in the whole 
matter. And in case of delinquency they 
were liable to just such punishment as he 
saw fit to inflict. The picture is clearly 
that of a slave establishment and of no other. 
The Saviour not only draws these pictures 
which found their counterpart in society 
around him, but he makes other allusions to 
the subject more brief in their character. 
Thus in Lukexvi. 13, he says, no slave oixsr'ris 
can serve two masters. There are two terms, 

as already noted in relation to this subject, 
7 



Si LECTURE IV. 

the one significant of condition, the other of 
service. In all slaveholding communities 
the term, which is indicative of service is 
the one more commonly used. They are 
both employed in the New Testament but 
the term significant of service more fre- 
(juently than the one significant of condition. 
But the term ^oyXo-; when used to signify 
the service of a slave is usually connected 
with, such adjuncts as to render the meaning 
quite evident. In many instances the term 
indicative of service just as clearly points 
out slave service as if the term were used 
which is significant of the slave's condition. 
From the frequent allusions by our Saviour 
to the subject of slavery, and from the man- 
ner, in which those allusions are made it 
must be quite evident that he lived among 
a slaveholding people. Yet in all the four 
Gospels there is not a record made that he 
spake a word against the institution of sla. 
very as such. This is singular, if slavery is 
the greatest sin of which men can be truiltv. 
and if it is necessary as some think, to turn 
the world up side down to eradicate the evil. 
How shall we account for our blessed Sa- 
viour's silence on this subject? We have 



LECTURE IV. (j\> 

been told that no man can be a christian un- 
less he lifts up his voice like a trumpet, and 
renders his indignant and burning testimony 
against all, who are in any way connected 
with the institution of slavery. Yet Christ 
lived, and preached in the midst of this in- 
stitution and never said one word directly 
against it. How is this % It is all easily 
explained by the language which he used 
before Pontius Pilate, and which is quoted 
at the head of this discourse. " My king- 
dom is not of this world." He had a great- 
er and more glorious object in view, than 
interfering directly with the civil institutions 
of the nations. He " came to seek, and to 
save that which was lost, to destroy the 
power of Satan, and deliver men from the 
bondage of sin." From this 2-reat work he 
would not be diverted to give his attention 
to minor evils. Full well he knew, that ma- 
ny great and crying evils existed in all hu- 
man governments, and would exist, until the 
hearts of men were subdued to God and 
sanctified by the influences of the gospel. 
Full well he knew that the best way to 
eradicate these evils, was not directly to at- 
tack them in the citadel of their strength 



70 LECTURE IV. 

but to bring the human heart under the con- 
trol of heavenly love, when all the grievan- 
ces of men would gradually melt away and 
disappear. Full well he knew, that if the 
fountain of human action were once rectified, 
all the streams that issue from it, would be 
pure and innocent, and holy. And he knew 
quite as well, that to emancipate the slave 
from the fetters of servile bondage would 
add little to the improvement of his condi- 
tion while his heart was under bondage to 
Satan. His great object was to deliver 
both the slave and his master from the fet- 
ters of spiritual bondage, from the slavery 
of sin, and then as a necessary consequence 
their social and civil relations would in due 
time be regulated upon principles of recip- 
rocal equality. The kingdom of Christ is 
not of this world, it is spiritual in its char- 
acter, and for this reason he did not interfere 
with the civil institutions of the world. He 
said nothing directly against the institution 
of slavery though living in daily contact 
with it. 

The conduct of our blessed Saviour here- 
in was closely imitated by his Apostles 
whom he commissioned to go out into all 



LECTURE IV. 71 

the world, and preach the gospel to every 
creature. When in fulfillment of their 
great commission they had passed the boun- 
dary of Judea into the adjoining and more 
distant provinces of the Roman empire they 
immediately came in contact with slavery 
in its most repulsive form. In Judea the 
rigors of slavery were somewhat broken by 
the influence of revelation, and it existed 
here in a milder form than among other na- 
tions whose total darkness was unrelieved 
by any ray of heavenly light. In the Ro- 
man Empire slaves had no protection from 
law, and were entirely at the mercy of their 
masters. With reference to the intercourse 
of the Apostles with slaves and slaveholders. 

1. We may remark that many slaves were 
converted to Christianity by their preaching. 
This is sufficiently manifest from the Apos- 
tolical Epistles. And probably a large pro- 
portion of the early christians were slaves, 
at least, in some particular Jccations. This 
would seem to be fair inference from the 
lan^ua'-'-e of the Apostle to the Corinthians. 
"For yon see your calling brethren, how 
that not many wise men after the flesh, not 
many mighty, not many noble, are called. 



72 LECTURE IV. 

But God hath chosen the foolish things of 
the world, to confound the wise, and God 
hath chosen the weak things of the world, to 
confound the mighty, and base things of the 
world and things, which are despised hath 
God chosen, yea and things which are not, 
to bring to naught things that are." That 
among these designations, slaves are inclu- 
ded as well as poor people is evident from 
what is said in the seventh Chapter of this 
Epistle, where the Apostle is giving counsel 
to those in various relations of life : v. 20, 21. 
" Let every man abide in the same calling 
wherein he was called. Art thou called be- 
ing a servant % care not for it, but if thou 
mayest be made free, use it rather." The ow- 
ner of a number of slaves, and many such 
there were at Corinth, being once converted, 
would immediately desire the conversion of 
his servants (such is the nature of Christiani- 
ty,) and would bring them under the reach 
of gospel influences. Again many a slave 
having once embraced the gospel might 
have been the means of conversion to his 
master. It is clear that there were slaves in 
the Corinthian Church, and in all probability 
many such. (1. Corinth xii. 13.) 






LECTURE IV, 73 

2. The Apostles never enjoined it upon 
believing masters to emancipate their slaves, 
even those of them that were co-members of 
the same church.* The Apostles direction 
to believing slaves in the Corinthian Church 
is evidence of this. J He says to the slave be 
contented with your condition, but if your 
master is disposed to liberate you, you had 
better accept of the boon, for a state of free- 
dom is preferable to a state of servitude. 
But if he should not be disposed to emanci- 
pate you, abide still in your servile condi- 
tion and care not for it. Here it is plain, 
that the Apostle laid no injunction upon the 
master to liberate his slave. He might do 
it, or not do it, just according to his own 
sense of duty. Herein the Apostle immita- 
ted his divine Master, who never interfered 
with civil institutions. He left it to time 
and the kindly influence of Christianity to 



*The pretence that the Apostles did not direct 
masters to emancipate because it was contrary to ex- 
isting laws, is idle. Emancipation was so common 
among the Romans that it became a nuisance and bur- 
den upon society. To restrain it, Augustus made a 
decree that no man should emancipate more than a 
hundred at a time. 



74 LECTRUE IV, 

cure the evil. The great and primary ob- 
ject being attained in the conversion of the 
soul to God, other things are of small ac_ 
count. " For he that is called in the Lord 
being a servant is the Lord's freeman, like- 
wise also he that is called being free, is 
Christ's servant." In the Epistle to the 
Ephesians, vi. 9. the Apostle directs Mas- 
ters to " treat servants well, forbearing 
threatening," but he says not one word about 
emancipation. That slaves are here referred 
to is evident, from the contrast in the eighth 
verse, as well as from the adjunct, " forbear- 
ing threatening." Again Coll. iv. 1. " Mas- 
ters give unto your servants that which is 
just and equal knowing that ye also have a 
master in heaven." Not a word here about 
emancipation. But say you, you are caught 
now. He must give unto his servants, that 
which is just and equal, and that means 
emancipation. It don't mean any such thinsr. 
It is not just and equal according as you un- 
derstand the terms, but as these masters un- 
derstood them agreeably to the usages un- 
der which they lived. If it means eman- 
cipation, why did the Apostle say to these 
same servants, "Obey in all things you mas- 



LECTURE. IV. 75 

ters according to the flesh, not with eye- 
service as men-pleasers, but in singleness of 
heart, fearing God." What command them to 
obey after they were liberated ? This would 
be contrary to his direction to the Corin- 
thian slave. " If thou mayest be made free 
use it rather." Why give any direction to 
the slave if the relation which he sustained 
to his master was to cease ? In all the Apos- 
tolic instruction on this subject not a syllable 
is uttered in regard to the abolition of sla- 
very, not surely because the Apostles de- 
sired the continuance of the institution, but 
because being taught of God they saw it 
best to leave the whole subject to the be- 
nign influences of Christianity. 

3. The Apostles did not persuade slaves 
to run away from their masters, nor instruct 
them to steal their property, nor assist them 
in their flight contrary to the known laws of 
the land. Of this we have abundant evi- 
dence. Let us turn our attention to what 
the Holy Spirit teaches on this subject in 1 
Cor. vii. 20. " Let every man abide in the 
same calling, wherein he was called. Art 
thou called bein^ a servant 1 care not for it 
but if thou mavest be made free use it rather.' 



7G LECTURE IV. 

Here the direction to the slave is to abide 
with his master, not to run away from him. 
(Eph. vi. 5, S.) " Servants be obedient to 
them that are your masters, according to the 
flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness 
of your heart as unto Christ, not with eye- 
service as men pleasers, but as the servants 
of Christ, doing the will of God from the 
heart, with good will doing service as to the 
Lord and not to men, knowing that whatev- 
er good thing a man doeth, the same shall 
he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond 
or free." Not a word here about running 
away, nor about stealing property to assist 
the flight. On the contrary specific instruc- 
tion is given to the slave not to defraud his 
master by neglecting duty as soon as his 
eye was turned away. (Coloss. iii. 22, 24.) 
" Servants, obey in all things your masters 
according to the flesh, not with eye-service 
as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart 
fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it 
heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men ; 
knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive 
the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve 
the Lord Christ." How different this in- 
struction given to the slave by the Holy 



LECTURE IV. 77 

Spirit of God, from that, which advises him 
to embrace the first opportunity to run away, 
and to steal whatever comes to hand to aid 
him in his escape. Again turn your atten- 
tion to 1 Tim. vi. 1, 2. "Let as many ser- 
vants as are under the yoke, count their 
masters worthy of all honor, that the name 
of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. 
And they that have believing masters, let 
them not despise them, because they are 
brethren, but rather do them service because 
they are faithful and beloved, partakers of 
the benefit." Here again we have similar 
instruction, but not a word about stealing or 
running away from their masters. Titus ii. 
9. " Exhort servants to be obedient unto 
their own masters, and to please them well 
in all things not answering again, not pur- 
loining, but showing all good fidelity, that 
they may adorn the doctrine of God our 
Saviour in all things." Here not only con- 
tinuance and faithfulness of service is enjoin- 
ed, but theft is expressly forbidden. Once 
more. 1 Peter ii. 18, 19. " Slaves," Pe- 
ter here uses the very term, which is signi- 
ficant of the servant's condition. " Slaves 
be subject to your masters with all fear, not 



IS LECTURE IV. 

only to the good and gentle, but also to the 
froward for this is thank worthy, if a man 
for conscience towards God endure grief, 
suffering wrongfully." The above is cer- 
tainly proof enough that the Apostles did 
not advise slaves either to run away from 
their masters, or to steal their property. 
That they did not assist them in their flight 
contrary to the known laws of the land, is 
also very manifest. First from the doctrine, 
which they taught in reference to obeying 
all the enactments of civil law. (1 Peter ii. 
13, 15.) '" Submit yourselves to every ordi- 
nance of man for the Lord's sake, for so is 
the will of God that with well doing ye may 
put to silence the ignorance of foolish men/' 
(See also Rom. xiii.) Secondly it is manifest 
from a remarkable example, which we have 
on record. A good-for-nothing slave * by 
the name of Onesimus had run away from 
his master Philemon, and went to Rome. 
There he heard the Apostle preach, was con- 
verted, and became a good man. As soon 
as the Apostle became acquainted with the 
facts in his case, he sent him directly back 

* Phil. v. 2. " To thee unprofitable." 



LECTURE IV. 70 

to his master with a letter written for the 
purpose of reconciling the master to him, 
conciliating his favor, and screening the 
slave from merited punishment, because he 
was now a penitent and reformed man. 
The Apostle would not countenance the 
flight of a slave from his master. It would 
be contrary to all the instruction which had 
been given in regard to the duty of slaves 
and in regard to the duty of all scrupulous- 
ly to obey the existing laws of the land. 

4. The Apostles did not withhold com- 
munion from slave holders, or deem it expe- 
dient to disturb the peace of the church, or 
rend it asunder on account of slavery. This 
is clearly evident from all the instruction, 
which he gave on the subject both to slaves 
and to their masters. They would not in- 
terfere directly with the civil relations which 
men sustained to each other, but left those 
relations to be regulated by the spirit of the 
gospel. Philomon was unquestionable a 
slaveholder. Yet the Apostle does not de- 
nounce him as a thief, and a robber, nor a 
black-hearted wretch. Far different from 
this, is his language. He calls him afellow- 



9 



SO LECTURE IV. 

laborer, and a brother dearly beloved. This 
Philemon the slaveholder had a church in 
his house. This church might have consist- 
ed of a few near neighbors, his own children, 
and a larsfe number of his slaves and Phiie- 
mon might have been their spiritual instruc- 
tor, which is probable from the Apostles 
calling him a fellow laborer. Upon them all 
he pronounces the usual benediction. "Grace 
to you and peace, from God our Father, 
and the Lord Jesus Christ." Does this look 
like withholding communion with him 1 
Neither does the Apostle assert that those 
who held communion with Philemon could 
not be christians. He expressly calls them 
saints though they did commune with the 
slaveholder. " For we have great joy and 
consolation in thy love, because the bowels 
of the saints are refreshed by thee brother." 
In 1 Tim. vi. 1, 2. the Apostle calls 
slave holders faithful and beloved parta- 
kers of the benefit, and commands their be- 
lieving servants not to despise them, but to 
♦'Count them worthy of all honor." These 
considerations are sufficient to show us, that 
the Apostles did not countenance the with- 



LECTURE IV, 81 

drawmen* of communion from slaveholders, 
nor any division in the churches on that ac- 
count. 

5. The Apostle Paul under the inspira- 
tion of God, wholly disapproves, and sternly 
rebukes any, who should teach or act con- 
trary to the instructions, which the Holy 
Spirit had communicated to the churches on 
this subject. We have his words definitely 
expressed in relation to this point in 1 Tim. 
vi. 1 — 5. " Let as many servants as are un- 
der the yoke, count their own masters wor- 
thy of all honor that the name of God, and 
his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they 
that have believing masters, let them not 
despise them because they are brethren, but 
rather do them service, because they are 
faithful and beloved partakers of the benefit. 
These things teach and exhort. If any man 
teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome 
words, even the words of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and to the doctrine which is accor- 
ding to godliness, he is proud, knowing noth- 
ing, but doating about questions and strifes 
of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, 
railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings 
of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of tho 



82 LECTURE IV. 

truth, supposing - that gam is godliness : from 
such withdraw thyself." This is a true pic- 
ture of all, who in any age teach and act 
contrary to the instructions of the Holy Spir- 
it. It was true in the days of the Apostle, 
it is true this very hour. With such per- 
sons, Timothy was to have no sympathy. 
From the evils arising from such instruction 
and action, he was to clear his skirts by 
keeping aloof from them. 

The sum of the whole matter is this : 
Jesus Christ though living in the midst of 
slaveholders, never said one word directly 
against slavery : the Apostles, when they 
went out to preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture, came into immediate contact with sla- 
very in its worst forms, many slaves were 
converted under their ministry and added to 
the churches, yet they never commanded 
the master to emancipate his slaves, nor en- 
couraged the slave to run away from his 
master, nor to steal his property, nor did they 
assist them to escape contrary to the known 
laws of the land. They merely said to him 
" If thou mayest be made free use it rather." 
If thou mayest be free by legal manumission 
sise the privilege nevertheless to be a freeman 



LECTURE IV. 83 

of Christ is infinitely more important: nor 
did they withdraw from communion with 
slaveholders, nor divide the Church, or at- 
tempt to revolutionize the state on account 
of it; and further, they left the solemn rec- 
ord of God's disapproval of those who would 
pursue a course in relation to this subject 
different from what they had done, 

1. In closing this subject, I protest against 
any inference as illogical and false, which 
would go to show that either our Saviour or 
his Apostles approved of slavery in itself 
considered. They acted in relation to it in 
accordance with the great principle that 
Christ's kingdom is not of this world. They 
therefore carefully abstained from any direct 
interference with the civil institutions of so- 
ciety. But it does not hence follow, that 
they appioved of all those institutions in their 
every detail and feature. Beside they knew 
that in gaining access to the human heart 
and in securing the conversion of the soul to 
God, they were doing more to alleviate all 
the sorrows of life, ten thousand times told 
than they could possibly have accomplished 
by any direct interference with the civil in- 
stitutions of the day. 
8* 



84 LECTURE IV. 

2. I may ask in view of our subject, if 
Christians of the present day, who feel it 
their duty in regard to the subject of slavery 
to follow the instruction, and imitate the ex- 
ample of our blessed Lord and his Apostles, 
can be so very far astray from the path of 
their duty as they are sometimes represent- 
ed to be ] We are confidently told, that a 
man cannot be a Christian unless he enters 
upon an immediate crusade against slavery. 
Unless he makes this the cne great, grand, 
and all absorbing theme, of all his thoughts, 
words, and actions, he cannot be a Chris- 
tian. But Jesus Christ teaches no such doc- 
trine as this. The Apostles teach it not. 
Who is to be followed Jesus Christ and the 
Apostles, or these new lights that have ari- 
sen upon our moral horizon % Are they 
wiser than the Saviour ? are they kinder 
hearted % Do they love the slave more 
than he did % Doubtful. Do they know 
more than all the inspired Apostles % Have 
they greater love for human beings than these 
same Apostles % But suppose a man should 
stand in awe of the rebuke, which God has 
administered against those, who take a course 
different from the Apostles on this subject, 



LECTURE IV. 85 

ftnd should hesitate about becoming a mod- 
ern abolitionist. Then he is a pro-slavery 
man, he is a pro-slavery minister. Well he 
has noble company. Moses and the Proph- 
ets, the Saviour and his Apostles come in 
for a share of the approbrium. These things 
are hard to be borne, when they come from 
good men, men whom we have reason to be- 
lieve are christians, though misled. But 
when they come from men, w 7 ho turn their 
backs daily upon Jesus Christ, and resist 
all his claims upon them, when such men 
turn a scornful and censorious eye upon the 
Church and say you cannot be christians 
unless you follow us instead of Christ and his 
Apostles; unless ye follow us instead of 
Christ and his Apostles ye are pro-slavery. 
O it is pitiful. And can they care anything 
about the slave ] Men that care not for their 
own souls, nor for the honor of Christ, can 
they love the slave 1 Believe it who can ? 
But we are told we must disconnect our- 
selves from christians in the South, and have 
no more communion with them because a- 
mong these there are some slaveholders. But 
Christ did not do so. His Apostles pursu- 
ed no such course as this. We may be ex- 



86 LECTURE IV. 

cused then, if we continue to follow Christ 
and his Apostles, and still commune with the 
members of his body, whether in slavehold- 
ingf or non-slaveholding communities. We 
dare not pursue a different course. 

Besides there are many Christians who 
feel that they have no more right to inter- 
fere with southern institutions than with the 
institutions of Great Britain. The states of 
the south are just as much independent sove- 
reignties as Great Britain ; and if it were 
lawful for Christians to interfere at all with 
independent sovereignties to which they 
themselves are alien, they feel that their first 
duty should be directed to Great Britain, be- 
cause there the greater evil exists. Were 
it lawful to interfere, they would lend their 
aid to the chartists and break down the un- 
righteous and overgrown monopolies of that 
kingdom which doom the great mass of its 
population to inevitable poverty and starva- 
tion. On what ground of equity are those 
great baronial estates founded ] Were they 
not first acquired by brute force, and that 
force, too, slave labor ? Are they not sus- 
tained by unmerciful and unequal legislation? 
It is not the poor and starving population 



LECTURE IV. 87 

who make tlic laws by which they are de- 
prived forever from a fee simple in the soil, 
and by which they are a doomed race of 
men. But they are freemen, you say. Glo- 
rious freedom ! free to endure the burden of 
inevitable and eternal poverty — free to 
starve to death in multitudes, or live at a 
point so near starvation that life is but a liv- 
ing agony ! Why ?• Because brute force in 
the first place, and unequal legislation in the 
second place, give one family more than they 
want, and one hundred families less than 
they need. Does time and custom change a 
wrong into a right ? Never. Then the few 
whose ancestors with theii bands of servile re- 
tainers, waded through the blood of war to 
their estates, have no right in equity to all 
the soil to the exclusion of the many. Ver- 
ily, the title to these baronies and dukedoms 
was acquired, and is sustained in a manner 
very similar to the title of property inhuman 
beings, and is productive of vastly more suf- 
fering and immorality. I say, then, if it were 
lawful for a Christian to interfere with the 
municipal regulations of foreign states, it 
would be our duty first to aim a death blow 
at the overgrown monopolies of Great Brit- 



S8 LECTURE IV. 

ain. and deliver the great mass of her popu- 
lation from poverty and starvation ; but as 
long as the kindgom of Christ is not of this 
world, it is not the duty of Christians to busy 
themselves in other men's matters : and we 
should think that a little modesty on the part 
of British Christians, and a little attention to 
the leprous spots upon their own mantle, 
would restrain them from turning their cen- 
sorious regards so frequently across the 
mighty deep upon their brethren in this wes- 
tern world. If then we may not meddle 
with the affairs of Great Britain, we may not 
meddle with matters pertaining to the intern- 
al police of the independent sovereignties of 
our own land. Christians have other busi- 
ness to do than that of interfering: with for- 
eign politics. Their master never taught 
them any lesson on this subject. If therefore 
they engage in the hazardous enterprise, 
they run the risk of losing the favour of him 
whose kingdom is not of this world. 



LECTURE V. 



THE PHILOSOPHY, AND THE POLICY, AND 
THE MERCY WITH WHICH OUR SAVIOUR 
AND HIS APOSTLES TREATED THE SUB- 
JECT OF SLAVERY. 

JOHN xvi. 12. 

" I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye 
cannot bear them now." 

In all the Bible there is no direct and spe- 
cific enactment against slaveholding. That 
it is contrary to the gospel and to the prin- 
ciples of eternal equity, is matter of infer- 
ence. But inferential truth is not seen sim- 
ultaneously and equally by all men in all 
places, and under all circumstances. Such 
truth makes its way slowly among men, and 
requires time to assert its perfect and uncon- 
troled dominion over the human heart. On 
account of the peculiar circumstances in 
which we have been placed, a certain moral 
truth may be perfectly clear to us, while 



90 LECTURE V. 

others, who have been placed in circum- 
stances altogether different, may have no dis- 
tinct apprehension of it. They may be just 
as conscientious and devoutly honest in re- 
jecting that truth as we have been in receiv- 
ing it. Thus, it may be perfectly clear to 
us that the doctrine of witchcraft is altogether 
the creature of imagination, and that it is 
morally wrong to put persons to death on 
account of it ; but cur Puritan fathers be- 
lieved in the existence of witches, and exe- 
cuted many of those whom they supposed to 
be such. Evidently, it is not owing to any 
superior acumen in us, nor any greater love 
to God or love to man, nor yet to any deep- 
er spirit of piety in us, that we have views 
on this subject so different from theirs, but 
simply to the more favorable circumstances 
in regard to light in which we have been 
placed. It may be perfectly clear to us that 
it is morally wrong to hold a fellow man un- 
der bond-service, yet our Father Abraham, 
whose piety and faith, and acceptance with 
God we dare not call in question, held a large 
number of men in bondage. Mav it not be 
possible that many at the present day, on 
account of their peculiar circumstances, are 



LECTURE V. 91 

quite as far behind us in point of moral illu- 
mination on this subject as our Father Abra- 
ham was ] They may not be convinced that 
it is morally wrong to hold men under bond- 
service : and shall we make our light a rule 
of action for them ? This would be presum- 
ing on our part to legislate over their con- 
sciences, and to make our individual views 
of duty the rule of their moral action — a 
species of usurpation unspeakably more 
enormous than that of holding men under 
civil bondage. First cast the beam out of 
thine own eye, says the great Law-giver, 
then shalt thou see clearly to cast the moat 
out of thy brother's eye. 

That the human mind receives truth by a 
gradual process of advancement, is taught 
by our Saviour when he says to his disciples, 
" I have yet many things to say unto you, 
but ye cannot bear them now." This rs 
also in correspondence with all the laws of 
mind, and with all the developments of medi- 
atorial rule. Yet our Saviour did not de- 
nounce his disciples, nor withdraw his love 
from them, because they had not the whole 
field of moral truth perfectly and distinctly 

within their vision. And throughout the 
9 



92 LECTURE V. 

New Testament it is admitted that men may 
be amazingly deticient in thair views of truth 
and yet be good men — yet be the children 
of God. Hence we hear the Apostle to the 
Corinthians usinsr the following lana'ua^e : 
•'And I, brethren, could not speak unto you 
as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as 
unto babes in Christ ; 1 have fed you with 
milk and not with meat — for hitherto ye 
were not able to bear it, neither yet now are 
ye able." Similar language he uses to- 
wards the Hebrew Christians. From all of 
which it is plain that neither our Saviour nor 
his Apostles made their own views of truth 
the rule of duty to their disciples, but com- 
municated truth to them as they were able 
to bear it ; which truth, when communica- 
ted, was to them the law of moral action. 
These remarks may aid us in contemplating 
the philosophy, and the policy, and the mer- 
cy with which our Saviour and his Apostles 
treated the subject of slavery. 

1. As to the philosophy of their procedure 
— whether was it true or false % Such is 
the constitution of the human mind, that on 
all moral subjects it will not endure compul- 
sion. Here all its action must be voluntary. 



LECTURE V. 93 

The mind must be enlightened — must be 
convinced — must be brought under the in- 
fluence of truth, before a man is prepared to 
act morally right. Moreover, the field of 
truth is so immense that none but the mind 
of God can adequately comprehend it in all 
the compass of it ; and the moral vision of 
men is limited, yet capable of enlargement, 
though its expansion be unequal in different 
individuals in circumstances which are dif- 
ferent. The light of truth developes itself 
gradually in all minds — in some more rapid- 
ly, in others less. Especially is this the case 
with inferential truth. There are some 
great preliminary truths which all intelligent 
minds seem prepared immediately to receive 
and appreciate. Other truths there are, 
which flow from these as a necessary conse- 
quence, that are not immediately seen and 
apprehended by all minds at the same time. 
A thousand things may be in operation upon 
some minds which constitutes their inability 
to receive the truth, while with others no- 
thing may intervene to prevent its immedi- 
ate reception. Any effort to coerce the 
mind in relation to truth, is not only vain 
but not unfrequently wakens up in the bosom 



W4 LECTURE V. 

an unconquerable antipathy to it. Any ef- 
fort to force a man to act morally right, when 
his mind is not fully enlightened and convinc- 
ed, is always abortive ; yea, an attempt to 
force him into right action when he is en- 
lightened and convinced, is not only abor- 
tive, but usually drives him off from duty 
and prejudices him against its performance. 
Jesus Christ, who understood perfectly 
the constitution of the human mind, would 
in no instance burden it with more than it 
was able to bear. The immediate disciples 
of our Lord, having embraced some of the 
great primary truths of Christianity, were 
as yet unable to bear other truths of vast im- 
portance to the perfection of thair character; 
yet they were given to understand that in 
due time and as they were able to bear it, 
they should be fully enlightened and led into 
all truth. No disciple should ever entertain 
the imagination for a single moment, that he 
comprehends within the circle of his vision 
the whole field of divine truth. Having en- 
tered the school of Christ, he must be an 
humble learner as long as he continues in the 
flesh ; and doubtless after death, if he is ad- 
mitted into the paradise of God, he will still 



LECTURE V. 95 

be a learner upon a grander and nobler scale. 
And divine knowledge is communicated to 
all the disciples, by the great Head of the 
Church, as they are able to bear it. But no 
rule of duty can be made binding upon the 
conscience of any disciple which has its foun- 
dation in truth that as yet he has been una- 
ble to receive. This is an obvious principle, 
having its orign in the very nature of 
things. The disciple may fall under the 
righteous animadversion of his master for his 
slowness of heart to believe all that the pro- 
phets have spoken, but he can never be 
bound in conscience by any ride of duty 
that has its origin in truth with which he 
is yet unacquainted. Evidently it is the pre- 
rogative of the Master alone to censure his 
disciple, if censure is called for, for his fool- 
ishness and slowness of heart to believe. If 
one disciple take it upon himself to censure 
another, he is immediately met by the re- 
proof of his Lord : " Who art thou that 
judgeth another man's servant % To his own 
master he standeth or falleth. First cast the 
beam out of thine own eye," 

The above considerations may explain the 

reasons why neither our Lord nor anv of his 
9* 



90 LECTURE V. 

Apostles said a single word against slavery 
as an existing civil institution. Plainly, the 
disciples were as yet not able to bear it. 
Had they been able to bear it, the whole truth 
had been spread out before them in charac- 
ters of living light. But they were not able. 
Hence they delivered no rule of duty which 
did not obviously result from the great pri- 
mary truths which had been received. They 
directed masters to treat their slaves kindly, 
and slaves to be obedient to their masters. — 
The relation that existed between them as 
master and slave they did not touch. But 
because they did not disturb this relation for 
the time being is no evidence that they de- 
signed the relation should continue in its 
presentform. Nothing could be more illogi- 
cal than an inference of this kind. The evi- 
dence arising from the fact is, that men are 
slow in the reception of truth, and that God 
exercises forbearance towards his own peo- 
ple till they are able to bear the truth, and 
endures many things in them for a season 
from which he will eventually deliver them. 
2. The policy of the course which our Sa- 
viour and his Apostles pursued with refer- 
ence lo the subject of slavery. True policy 



LECTURE V. 1/7 

is always true philosophy, and true philoso- 
phy is the embodied spirit of true Christian- 
ity. In the days of Christ and his Apostles, 
slavery existed all over the world as a civil 
institution. Their business was to preach 
the gospel to every living creature — to make 
known to dying men their sinful, lost, and 
ruined condition by nature, and to proclaim 
to them salvation through a glorious Media- 
tor. With their commission in their hand* 
under the broad seal of heaven, would i* 
have been wise in them, would it have been 
good policy in them, to have paused in the 
work of preaching the gospel for the pur- 
pose of becoming political reformers ; for the 
purpose of attacking the civil institutions of 
the day in every point wherein they pre- 
sented a feature that needed reformation 1 
In such a course of direct warfare against 
existing institutions would they not have 
armed the world against them, and cut them- 
selves off from all access to the human mind 1 
What would be the consequence were our 
missionaries in foreign lands to leave the em- 
bassy of God, turn political reformers and 
begin to meddle with the civil institutions of 
those countries in which thoy reside ? They 



98 LECTURE Y 5 

would soon have to fly the country or he. 
come incarcerated in dungeons : and had the 
first ministers of the gospel so far forgotten 
their high character as embassadors of Christ 
as to have descended into the arena of polit- 
ical strife, we had never heard of Christ nor 
of salvation through his name. Their ca- 
reer would have been short, their end would 
have been tragic and disgraceful. But they 
did not so learn Christ. They employed 
themselves exclusively in the fulfillment of 
their great commission. Well they knew 
that if they could gain a lodgment in the hu- 
man heart for the great and primary truths 
of Christianity, all related truths would in 
due time be fully embraced as the minds of 
men became able to receive and bear them. 
"Well they knew if once the hearts of men 
became right with God, in due time their 
intercourse with each other would be regu- 
lated in accordance with the principles of 
justice and mercy : and well they knew if 
the heart was not right with God, that any 
legislation in regard to human intercourse 
would be vain and nugatory. They there- 
fore gave their undivided attention to the 
preaching of the gospel ; to the work of 



LECTURE V. 99 

bringrinsf men in a state of reconciliation 
with God, and to the presentation of pre- 
cepts in regard to personal holiness. These, 
with our Saviour and his Apostles, were the 
great and paramount questions, compared 
with which all others were of minor impor- 
tance. " Art thou called bein^r a servant ? 
Care not for it." To be delivered from the 
bondage of sin is infinitely more important 
than deliverance from civil bondage. For 
he that is called in the Lord, being a ser- 
vant, is the Lord's freeman. " Brethren, let 
every man wherein he is called therein 
abide with God." Your civil condition, 
whether bond or free, is a matter about 
which you need not be over solicitous, pro- 
vided your heart is reconciled to God, pro- 
vided ye are the Lord's freeman. 

The course pursued by our Saviour and 
his Apostles was manifestly the only true 
policy. Had they made an attack upon the 
political institutions of the daj , they would 
have roused the prejudices of the world 
against them and barred themselves from 
all access to the public mind. We may 
form some correct judgment of what the 
6tate of things would have been, in case of 



100 LECTURE V. 

such an attack, by calling to our recollection 
the jealousy that exist at the present day 
against the interference of ministers of the 
gospel with political questions. Suppose 
any minister of the present day should make 
the preaching of the gospel a subject of se- 
condary importance and give his undivided 
attention to the eradication of some great 
political evil, would he gain the ear and find 
access to the hearts of the great body of the 
community ] A clique of partizans might 
listen with delight to his secular harangues, 
but the great mass of mind and heart would 
be driven irrecoverably beyond his reach. 
The Apostles did not for a moment so far 
forget their high character as embassadors of 
Christ, as once to think of pursuing such a 
course. They passed the institution of sla- 
very in silence, so far as regards its abolition. 
They did not meddle with this question. — 
By avoiding this and other political ques- 
tions, they gained the ear of the world for 
the messages of salvation, and poured into 
the mass of mind and heart the leven of di- 
vine truth. By pursuing this course they 
did ten thousand times more towards the ab- 
olition of slavery, and all other political evils, 



LECTURE V. 101 

than could possibly have been effected had 
they set themselves up as political reformers. 
By simply testifying repentance towards 
God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus 
Christ, they introduced into the relations of 
man a mighty element, the tendency of which 
is to deliver him from all oppression and re- 
store to him all his rights, and which became 
most powerfully efficient in after times for 
the abolition even of slavery itself. With- 
out this element of Christian love, nothing 
can be done towards removing the wrongs 
which have crept into the relations of life 
through the prevalence of sin. The course 
pursued by the Saviour and his Apostles was 
the only wise, sa*e and feasable course 
that could be pursued under the circum- 
stances; and where circumstances are simi- 
lar, a similar course ought to be pursued by 
all who bear the name of Christ. 

3. The mercy of the course pursued by 
the Saviour and his Apostles in relation to 
the subject of slavery. The course which 
they pursued was merciful toward the mas- 
er and the servant. 

1. It was merciful towards the master. 
It did not judge him by a rule originating in 



102 LECTURE V. 

truth which as yet he was unable to bear. 
And what disciple of our Lord is there, or 
has there ever been, who is or was able to 
bear at once, all the truth that pertains to 
his relation both to God and man, and at onc° 
to enter upon the performance of all the du- 
ties which a knowledge and embracement of 
the whole truth imperiously caU for % Not 
one. The whole economy of grace, as por- 
trayed in the scriptures, and the uniform ex- 
perience of all the children of God, are in 
proof of this. The work of renovating grace 
in the human heart, is represented as small 
in its beginning and gradual in its develop- 
ment. Hence we read of babes in Christ 
who were fed with milk ; hence we are ex- 
horted to «row in <rrace and in the knowl- 
edsfe of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' 
Such language could have no meaning, or ap- 
plication if every disciple did at once em- 
brace the whole truth and discharge all the 
duties, which arise out of his relations to God 
and man. Were such the fact, there could 
be no such thing as moral infancy, no such 
thing as growth in grace. Even the best of 
men, and the most favoured. Christians if 
they have correct views of themselves, fee' 



LECTURE V. 103 

that they have much to learn before they ar- 
rive at a slate of moral and spiritual maturi- 
ty. Taking into view christian experience 
and the word of God in reference to this 
subject, it must be a conceded point, that 
there are amazing deficiencies in all, both in 
regard to a comprehensive knowledge and 
cordial reception of truth. If our blessed 
master should treat all his disciples as it is 
proposed to treat slaveholding professors of 
religion, withdraw communion from them, 
denounce them, cast them out of favor, be- 
cause they do not come up to his standard 
of truth, he would make a clean sweep of 
the whole sacramental host. The whole 
field of moral truth lies, in living characters 
of light, most perfectly within the compass 
of his mental vision. Should he deal with 
us according to the light of truth which lies 
concentrated within the compass of his vis- 
ion, and not according to the truth which we 
have been able to receive and bear, a certain 
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery in- 
dignation would soon appall the heart and 
blight the hope of every living disciple. — 
But our Saviour is merciful. Hence, both 

he and his Apostles treated the slaveholder 

10 



104 LECTURE V. 

according to the truth which he was able to 
bear. He treated him then just as he treats 
him now, and he treats him now just as he 
treats all his other disciples. He sees in all 
much that he cannot approve, much that 
grieves his holy heart ; but he bears with 
them because he will not break the bruised 
reed, nor quench the smoking flax, but a- 
midst all their imperfections he will watch 
over, cultivate and mature that good work 
which he has begun in their hearts. Thus 
the kind Saviour deals mercifully with all 
his people. He has no more occasion to ex- 
ercise mercy towards the slaveholder, than 
towards those who do not sustain that rela- 
tion, unless the slaveholder sin wilfully a- 
gainst his own convictions of duty. But who 
has a right to make his own convictions of 
duty the rule for another man's moral action ] 
Such would be an arrogant assumption of 
God's prerogatives. " Who art thou that 
judgest another man's servant 1 To his own 
master he standeth or falleth." Jesus and 
his Apostles treated the masters of slaves 
with mercv ; that is, according to the amount 
of truth which they were able to bear. Wo 
be to ihf» disciple who desires to be treated 



LECTURE v. 105 

after a different manner. "Judge not that 

ye be not judged." 

2. The course pursued by them was mer- 
ciful to the slave. It brought to his bosom 
the consolations of Christianity. It delivered 
him from the thraldom of sin, and introduced 
him into the glorious liberty of the children of 
God. " He that is called in the Lord," says 
the Apostle, " being a servant, is the Lord's 
freeman." " If the Son shall make you free," 
says Jesus Christ, " ye shall be free indeed." 
Thus, an unspeakable benefit was conferred 
upon the poor slave. He was delivered, by 
the grace of Christ, from the most oppressive 
kind of bondage — the bondage of sin ! A- 
gain, the course pursued by them gave them 
ready access to the mind and heart of the 
master. They secured a lodgment in his 
bosom for the glorious element of Christian 
love. This laid the foundation for the even- 
tual emancipation of the slave from civil 
bondage. What other course could they 
have pursued which would have secured so 
many rich blessings to the slave % None, 
certainly. The element of christian love is 
the only thing that can ever reach the evils 
of slavery. And this element must be in 



106 LECTURE V. 

the bosom of the slaveholder before the evil 
can be reached or removed. In the Roman 
empire many efforts had been made to abol- 
ish slavery by coercion, but they had all sig- 
nally failed, and the condition of the slave 
had only become more wretched in conse- 
quence. Suppose the Apostles had com- 
menced their course by denouncing slave- 
holders ; by calling them thieves, and rob- 
bers, and murderers ; by publicly proclaim- 
ing them so unclean and polluted, that even 
their money could not be received to pro- 
mote any benevolent object : what must have 
been the result ] These masters, long ac- 
customed to sustain this relation with the un- 
broken concurrence of the whole world, 
were not sufficiently enlightened to see or 
feel that it was sinful to hold their fellow 
men in bondage ; yet it required but little 
ligfht to see that such a course of denuncia- 
tion was outrageously arrogant and insult- 
ing. What class of men in the world, un- 
der such an assault upon their characters, 
would not combine for resistance 1 Would 
the Apostles in this case ever have preached 
the gospel to slaveholders 1 Would they 
have preached it to slaves 1 No, never. — 



LECTURE V. 107 

They would have found masters barred 
against all access to them, and servants ef- 
fectually guarded against any possibility of 
approaching them. Would such a course 
have been merciful to the slave 1 Certainly 
not. In this case, neither master nor servant 
would ever have heard the gospel or come 
under its blissful influences, and slavery 
would have continued its unbroken reign to 
the end of time. But as soon as a master 
was converted by the preaching of the gos- 
pel, the condition of his servant was imme- 
diately improved. As soon as truth had 
gained admittance into the heait of the mas- 
ter, then, on the ground of that truth, the 
Apostle might interpose in behalf of his ser- 
vants and secure to them kind treatment. — • 
The course pursued by them in preaching 
the gospel was merciful to the slave. It se- 
cured to him an immediate amelioration of 
his condition, laid the foundation of his 
future emancipation from civil bondage, and 
above all, inspired his bosom with hope of 
heaven. 

1. In conclusion, let me remark, first, that 
there is a great difference in men in regard 
to the distinct perception and the candid re- 
10* 



108 LECTURE V. 

ception of truth. This difference originates 
not in the fact that one man is better by na- 
ture than another, but in the fact that they 
are placed in different circumstances. How 
long was it before the early Jewish converts 
were able to understand and heartily em- 
brace the truth with respect to the Gentiles 
becoming fellow heirs with them to the same 
promise % For a long time they were not 
able to bear this truth. A national preju- 
dice, of long standing, constituted their ina- 
bility. It took time to eradicate this preju- 
dice and fully enlighten them on this sub- 
ject. Yet the blessed Saviour did not cast 
them out of his favor because they were 
slow of heart to believe and embrace this 
truth, so essential to the enlargement of his 
kingdom. From the very different circum- 
stances in which we are placed, we under- 
stand and embrace this truth instantly. It is 
not because we are better and more consci- 
entious christians than they, but simply be- 
cause we are placed in circumstances more 
favorable for the reception of this truth. — 
Christ treats all his disciples according to the 
truth which they are able to bear. He ne- 
ver makes his own stnndard of truth a rule 



LECTURE V. 10y 

of duty for them. Now, it is very possible 
that those who have been born and brought 
up in slaveholding communities, may not be 
able to understand and embrace so much 
truth in regard to this subject, as we who 
are in circumstances so very diflerent. Are 
they to be judged according to the light 
which we have received, or according to 
the light which they have received ? Christ 
will judge them according to the light which 
they have received. 

2. I would respectfully ask, whether we 
at the north do well in denouncing the south, 
and in threatening to withhold communion 
from southern christians. Have we forgot- 
ten that all men come to the knowledge of 
the truth by a very gradual process, and that 
the farthest advanced have yet much to 
learn 1 We ought certainly to remember 
that we have but just got our eyes opened 
upon this and kindred subjects. It is not 
long: since we at the north were hanging: and 
drowning poor simple people for witchcraft. 
It is not long since we were a slaveholding 
community. In the state of New York the 
abolition of slavery is within memory of 
many now living. Is it seemly in us, ko 



110 LECTURE V. 

soon after we have in part rectified our own 
errors, to rush upon the south with all the 
fury of the tempest 1 Shall we denounce 
them, and cut them off from the household of 
faith, because they are now where we were 
a few days since 1 Truly, this is a marvel- 
ous course for christians to pursue. Will 
Jesus Christ approve it % Will he allow us 
to make our convictions of duty a rule of ac- 
tion for other men, when he does not him- 
self judge any by his own standard of truth, 
but according to the truth which they have 
been able to receive and bear % 



LECTURE VI. 



DO THE SCRIPTURES, RIGHTLY UNDER- 
STOOD, AUTHORIZE THE INSTITUTION 
OF BOND-SERVICE? 

MATT. xxii. 37—40. 

" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
This is the first and great commandment ; and the 
second is like unto it : Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself. On these two commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets." 

If there is any warrant in scripture for 
the institution of slavery, it must be found in 
the above condensed summary of the divine 
law. But who in sober reason, and under 
the influence of christian love, can find any 
such warrant there ? This law enjoins first, 
all the duties which we, as creatures, owe 
to our glorious Creator. It thus gives glory 
to God in the highest, to whom of right all 
glory belongs. It enjoins, secondly, all the 



11a LECTURE VI. 

duties which man owes to his fellow man. 
Thus it produces " peace on earth and good 
will to man." Love is the great element 
which the moral law would employ to se- 
cure these blessed results. No other prin- 
ciple in the human bosom, could be reached 
which would respond so certainly and so 
delightfully to the eternal equities of divine 
requirement. The moral law must not be 
regarded as an arbitrary enactment of sove- 
reignty, but as having its foundation and 
reason in the nature of those relations which 
we sustain to God and to each other. It is 
therefore the very law of our nature ; and 
the only law to be found in the annals of the 
■universe which secures to God his highest 
glory, and to man his greatest happiness. 

It is the second part of this law, relating 
to the duties which man owes to his fellow 
man, that properly comes into view in this 
discussion. " Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself." Now, if there is any warrant in 
the Bible for holding men under bond-ser- 
vice, it must be found in this single pre- 
cept ; for, says the Saviour, " On these two 
commandments hang all the law and the 
prophets." As these two commandments 



LECTURE VT. 113 

are a summary expression of all that is taught 
in the law and the prophets, so they are a 
condensed exhibition of all that is taught in 
the gospel. Jesus Christ re-enacts them, 
and incorporates them into the gospel sys- 
tem, as constituting its chief essence and glo- 
ry. All that God has taught us in regard to 
the relations which we sustain to each other, 
and in regard to the duties arising out of 
those relations which we owe to each other, 
is to be found in the single precept, " Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Vol- 
umes are condensed in this one precept : 
yet the principle of love will unfold, and ex- 
pand, and apply it with unerring precision 
to ail the varied exigencies of man. So 
thought an inspired Apostle. " Love," says 
he, " worketh no ill to his neighbor, there- 
fore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Rom. 
xiii. 10.) Who, then, with christian love in 
his heart, and this law distinctly before his 
mind, could ever think of finding in it a war- 
rant for slavery ? Unloosen all the seals of 
its many volumes, unroll and read, and you 
will not find in it the warrant which you 
seek. Yet, if the warrant be not found here, 
there is no divine warrant to be found for 



114 LECTURE VI. 

the institution of bond service. All that God 
has taught in the law and the prophets and 
the gospel, on the subject of our relations 
and duties to each other, is embodied in this 
one precept. We conclude, hence, that the 
divine law does not authorize the institution 
of slavery. Where, then, is a warrant for 
this institution to be found ? Nowhere, 
certainly, except in human laws. And the 
laws and usages of men which furnish such 
a warrant, are most unquestionably alien to 
the spirit of the divine law. The mere fact, 
that God has at different times tolerated the 
existence of slavery, is not evidence, surely, 
that he either authorizes or approves it. 

1. Let us now briefly glance over the 
subject as it appears in the Bible, and see if 
the existence of slavery be not, in all instan- 
ces, traceable to human enactment. 

2. Examine some of those passages of 
scripture which are relied upon as giving a 
divine sanction to the institution of slavery. 

1. We are briefly to glance at the sub- 
ject as it appears in the Bible, and see if the 
existence of slavery be not, in all instances, 
traceable to human enactment. 

Slavery, properly so-called, doubtless had 



LECTURE VI. 115 

its origin in war. Captives taken in battle 
were preserved from death, upon the hard 
condition of losing their liberty. As the 
custom of saving war-prisoners increased 
and slaves were multiplied, certain usages 
in regard to them would spring up and ac- 
quire the force and character of law. Uni- 
form and immemorial usage constitutes com- 
mon law. Slavery once introduced in tho 
way above noted, and the community becom- 
ing accustomed to its existence, and withal, 
seeing it to be profitable to the slave owner, 
various other opportunities than that of war- 
fare would be embraced to bring men into a 
state of bond-service. Whoever, in any 
manner, was reduced to a state of slavery, 
would be treated according to the common 
law, which had originated in the long stand- 
ing usages of men in regard to the subject. 

So early as the days of Abraham, slavery 
had assumed a maturity of form and con- 
sistancy of character, and constituted a dis- 
tinct element in the social condition of men, 
At this age, too, the slave trade was in ac- 
tive operation ; for Abraham had servants 
which were bought with his money, as well 

as those that were born in his house, We 
11 



116 LECTURE VI, 

have reason to believe that this trade con- 
tinued in after time with unabated force, as 
it always will continue, where the laws of 
nations authorize the institution of slavery. 
In the days of Jacob we find the Ishmaeli- 
tish merchants purchasing Joseph without 
the least hesitancy. This they would not 
have done, unless the slave trade had been 
an allowed practice in their time, and unless 
thev had been certain of finding: a readv 
market for him in some slave mart. Shortly 
after this we find the whole nation of Israel 
in a state of bond-service to the Egyptians. 
Thus, long before Moses, slavery existed 
among the nations as a part of their social 
■economy, with its usages and well defined 
and established laws. But who will pre- 
tend that the nations of the earth had a di- 
vine sanction for the institution 1 Where, in 
the book of revelation or in the book of na- 
ture, can that sanction be found 1 The mere 
fact that it existed, is no more evidence that 
Ood sanctioned it, than that he sanctioned 
idolatry which existed at the same time. 

When Moses, therefore appeared as a di- 
vine law-giver, he found the institution of 
slavery as well amone; the Jews as among" 



LECTURE VI. 117 

other nations, in all its maturity and strength. 
(Exod. xxi. 2 — 6.) God saw that it was 
not safe nor best, for the present, to attempt 
its abolition : he therefore suffered it to re 
main. He did not, however, suffer it to re- 
main precisely in the form in which it had 
previously existed. The condition of the 
Hebrew slave was materially improved 5 
and slaves of other nations were placed un- 
der the protection of law. But the mere 
toleration of a thing is no evidence of its ap- 
proval. Nor is the regulation of a thing, 
which may be suffered to exist, by municipal 
enactments, any evidence that it exists by di- 
vine warrant. The law of divorce, which 
was in existence among the Jews at this 
time, was suffered to remain under a specific 
regulation. (Deut. xxiv. 1 ; Mark x. 4 — 9.) 
But neither the toleration nor the regulation 
of this consuetudinary law furnishes any ev- 
idence of divine approval or of divine war- 
rant. Polygamy and concubinage were tol- 
erated under the old dispensation, but who 
is prepared to say that they were ever prac- 
ticed under a divine warrant. (I Sam. i. 1, 2, 
Exod. xxi. 9, 10.) That slavery, and divorce, 
and polygamy were evils, which were barely 



116 LECTURE VI. 

tolerated for the time being, for reasons good 
and sufficient then existing, is manifest from 
the fact that no warrant for either of them 
can be found in the precept, " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself." Slavery ex- 
isted at the opening of the Christian dispen- 
sation ; and for good reasons, then existing, 
it was still tolerated, until the world should 
be sufficiently enlightened and imbued with 
the spirit of Christianity to see and feel that 
it was contrary to the spirit of the divine 
law. In the meantime, while the institution 
was suffered to remain, wise and salutary 
counsel was given both to master and ser- 
vant, in regard to the duties which they 
owed to each other respectively. As soon 
as the spirit of Christianity should be suffi- 
ciently matured in the hearts of the commu- 
nity, then there would be needed no new 
enactment to abolish slavery. Masters, ac- 
tuated by the spirit of the law, " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself," would volun- 
tarily manumit their slaves. 

In looking over the lapse of time now 
brought under review, to me it appears very 
clear that no divine warrant can be found 
for the institution of slavery. It is plainly a 



LECTURE VI. 119 

human institution, and manifestly contrary to 
the spirit of the divine law, rightly under- 
stood. This human institution was tolerated 
by the municipal laws of Moses, and suffered 
to continue, for the time being, at the begin- 
ing of the Christian dispensation' But the 
manner in which it was treated, in either in- 
stance did not confer upon it a divine warrant. 

2. We proceed now, in the second place, 
to examine some of those passages of scrip- 
ture which are relied upon as giving a di- 
vine sanction to the institution of slavery. 

I may be permitted here to say, that if the 
sanction cannot be found in the two great 
commandment of the law, the strong pre- 
sumption is that it cannot be found in the 
Bible. With respect to the relations which 
man holds to his fellow man, the one pre- 
cept, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy- 
self," comprehends all that the law and the 
prophets and the gospel teach. If you can- 
not find the sanction for slavery in this pre- 
cept of the law, in vain do you look for it in 
the book of God. 

One text which is frequently quoted as 
furnishing a sanction for enslaving the Afri- 
can race is the following. (Gen. ix. 24,25.) 
11* 



120 LECTURE VI. 

"And Noah awoke from his wine and knew 
what his younger son had done unto him ; 
and he said cursed be Canaan, a servant of 
servants shall he be unto his brethren," — 
Does this passage authorize any nation to 
enslave the African race 1 

1. In answer to this question, I remark, 
first, that the passage is evidently prophetic. 
It refers to the future condition of his pos- 
terity, upon whom the prophetic imprecation 
was pronounced. But does the prophetic 
announcement of evil against any people au- 
thorize others to rise up and inflict that evil 
upon them 1 If so, then Pharoah was justi- 
fiable in reducing the Israelites to the griev- 
ous bondage under which they groaned in 
Egypt. Nebuchadnezzer was justifiable in 
all the hardships which he inflicted upon 
them in Babylon. And neither Pharoah nor 
Nebuchanezzer ought to have been punished 
for the course which they pursued towards 
the Jews ; for, in both instances, their ser- 
vile and suffering condition was matter of 
prophecy. Evidently no man is justifiable 
in the infliction of evil upon any people on 
the simple ground that they are the subjects 
of a prophetic imprecation, unless that man 



LECTURE VI. 121 

hav r e a specific divine warrant appointing him 
to the work as God's executioner. Neither 
Pharaoh nor Nebuchadnezzer had any such 
warrant ; therefore God punished them most 
fearfully for the parts which they severally 
acted in relation to the oppression of the 
Jews. If, therefore, the prophecy has rela- 
tion to the present African race, those na- 
tions who enslave them must show a specific 
divine warrant by which they are appointed 
God's agents to fulfill the prediction, or their 
conduct herein is not capable of justification, 
2. I remark secondly, that this Noetic 
prophecy is restricted to Canaan, the young- 
est son of Ham. It has no application to 
Ham, nor Cush, nor Llitzraim, nor Phut, but 
is exclusively applied to Canaan. (See 
Faber's Pagan Idolatry, Vol. 1, p. 89.) — 
There is not the least evidence that the pos- 
terity of Canaan ever settled in Africa. — 
Their dwelling place was western Asia. 
" And the border of the Canaanites was from 
Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza . 
as thou goest unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, 
and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.'' 
{Gen. x. 19.) There is no evidence, I say, 
that the modern Africans are the descend- 



122 LECTURE vr. 

ants of Canaan. But those who rely on this 
part of scripture as furnishing a sanction for 
the institution of slavery, as it affects the Af- 
rican race, must not only show a divine war- 
rant by which they are specifically appointed 
as God's agents to fulfill the prophecy, but, 
in a matter of so much importance, they 
must know with perfect certainty that the 
prophecy is strictly applicable to those whom 
they hold in a state of bondage. How can 
they know this, since there is not a particle 
of evidence that any of Canaan's posterity 
ever settled in Africa. {Gen. x. 15 — 19.) 
It is perfectly idle, commentators to the con- 
trary notwithstanding, to assert that the pro- 
phecy relates to any or all the other sons of 
Ham, because the Bible limits it exclusively 
to Canaan. If, therefore, they cannot show 
their divine warrant by which they are ap- 
pointed as God's agents in the premises, nor 
demonstrate that the present race of Africans 
are descendants of Canaan, they utterly fail 
of finding a sanction for slavery in the Noe- 
tic prophecy. 

The permission which Moses gave to the 
Jews, (Levit. xxv. 44 — 46.) to purchase and 
possess themselves of slaves from the Hea- 



LECTURE VI, 123 

then around them, and from the stranger? 
that dwelt among them, is sometimes referred 
to as furnishing a sanction for the institution 
of slavery at the present day ; but certainly, 
I think, without any reason or even proba- 
bility. 

1. This is evidently the mere recognition 
of an old consuetudinary law, which, being 
interwoven with the very frame-work of all 
the domestic arrangements of the nation, 
could not with safety to the people be abro- 
gated under existing circumstances. It is 
nGt to be regarded as a new law, enacted by 
Moses, but simply as the recognition of an 
old law, for the purpose of adding to it cer- 
tain modifications. Thus modified, for wise 
reasons it was suffered to continue for the 
present. The previous publication of the 
moral law, which looks to the ultimate abo- 
lition of slavery, is conclusive evidence that 
this old law was barely suffered on account 
of the blindness of their minds and the hard- 
ness of their hearts. The circumstances, 
therefore, under which this institution was 
tolerated, were such as to show that God did 
not approve of the thing in itself considered. 
But an institution that is barely suffered for 



124 LECTURE VI. 

the time being - , on account of peculiar cir- 
cumstances, has no warrant for its continu- 
ance, even among the same people, when 
the circumstances are no longer the same. 

2. Much less, I remark secondly, does the 
simple allowance of this institution among 
the Jews, authorize any other nation under 
heaven either to establish or continue it a- 
mong them. A privilege granted to A, speci- 
fically, cannot, by any process of just reason- 
ing, be so construed as belonging to B. The 
same rule holds good in regard to communi- 
ties as it does in regard to individuals. The 
allowance of slavery among the Jews fur- 
nished no warrant at the time to any other na- 
tion to hold men in a state of bond-service. 

3. Much less, I remark thirdly, does the 
allowance of slavery among the Jews in the 
days of Moses, and even during the whole 
period of their peculiar polity, furnish any 
warrant to a nation in a remote age of the 
world, to establish and continue the institu- 
tion among themselves ; especially when 
they live under a widely different dispensa- 
tion, which, when compared with that of the 
Jews, in point of moral illumination, is as 

jioonday brightness when contrasted with 



LECPVRE llio 

the twilight of the morning. The new dis- 
pensation under which men now live, abro- 
gates every thing in the old which is not 
moral in its nature. But that feature of the 
old dispensation which allowed the existence 
of slavery, was no part of the moral law. It 
was a human institution, which was barely 
tolerated for the time being. Hence, even 
the Jews, under the new dispensation, can 
have no warrant for the institution of slavery, 
arising out of Mosaic allowance ; much less 
can a Christian nation have such a warrant. 
Moreover, if the mere fact that the Jews, 
for certain considerations then existing, were 
suffered to hold men under bond-service, 
makes slavery at the present day justifiable, 
then, for a similar reason, polygamy, and di- 
vorce for any cause, are now justifiable. — 
But who would think of pleading for the 
lawfulness of polygamy and divorce for 
any cause now, simply because these things- 
were tolerated under the old dispensation % 
If the toleration of them then, does not make 
them lawful now, neither does the toleration 
of slavery then, make it lawful now. What 
ever view we take of bond-service among 
'he ancient Jews, wc cannot see that it iur- 



126 LECTURE VI, 

mshes the least warrant for the existence of 
slavery at the present day. 

Other portions of scripture which are re- 
lied on by some as furnishing a sanction for 
the institution of modern slavery, are the 
Apostolic directions, frequently repeated in 
the New Testament, for servants to be obe^ 
dient to tbeir masters according to the flesh. 
They had a Master in heaven, to whom 
love and service were due as the very term 
of their discipleship. They had, also, mas- 
ters according to the flesh, to whom, by ex- 
isting laws, service was due. This service 
the Apostles faithfully enjoined upon all who 
were in bondage, for reasons assigned, viz : 
First, that the name of God and his doctrine 
be not blasphemed by the violation of civil 
law. (1 Tim. vi. 1.) And secondly, that 
by a cheerful and ready obedience, they 
might adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour 
in all things. ( Tit. ii. 9, 10.) A great evil 
was to be avoided, and a great good to be 
secured, in the course recommended by the 
Apostles to those servants who were under 
the yoke. 

Now, I look upon those directions of the 
Apostles, which required slaves to be obedi- 



LECTURE VI. 127 

ent to their masters, as furnishing no appro- 
val or sanction of the laws which made slaves 
of them. It is as though they had said to 
servants under the yoke — your condition, it 
is true, is undesirable ; it is even loaded 
with many hardships ; yet as christians, it is 
your duty to submit quietly to the powers 
that be ; to obey the laws established, that 
in all things you may adorn the doctrine of 
God our Saviour. The duty of the slave is 
one thing ; the character of the law which 
makes him a slave, is quite another thing. — 
Because God commands his people, under 
given circumstances, to submit patiently to 
an evil, does it hence follow that he approves 
or sanctions that evil % If this be so, then al- 
most all the sins in the catalogue may find a 
divine warrant. The infinite Saviour informs 
his disciples that they should be betrayed, 
and murdered, and hated of all men ; yet 
amidst these evils, he says, " in your patience 
possess ye your souls" ; that is, under all 
these trials act like christians, not rendering 
evil for evil. Does it confer a divine sanc- 
tion upon treachery, and murder, and hatred, 
because the disciples were commanded to 
conduct themselves with christian patience 
12 



128 LECTURE VI. 

under such trials 1 Who will affirm it ?— • 
But he has just as good a right to affirm this 
as he has to affirm that the commanded obe- 
dience of slaves to their masters, confers a 
divine sanction upon the institution of slavery. 
The mere fact, then, that christian slaves 
were commanded to be obedient to their 
masters, furnished no divine warrant for the 
institution of slavery under which they then 
lived, much less does it warrant its existence 
at this advanced stage of christian light. — ■ 
While it is still the duty of servants who 
are under the yoke to obey their masters ac" 
cording to the flesh that the name of God and 
his doctrine be not blasphemed, yet there is 
now less apology for the continuance of sla- 
very than in the days of the Apostles. Then 
was but the dawn of christian light upon this 
dark world. The moral vision of even the 
redeemed, was then weak and not able to 
bear all the light of truth that was ready to 
pour in upon them from the eternal fountain 
of divine love. But now, after this light has 
beamed over the darkness of earth for eigh 
teen centuries, we should look for some im- 
provement in the moral vision, some more en- 
larged and distinct perception of the relations 



LECTURE VI. 129 

which we sustain to each other, a better prac- 
ticed understanding of that great principle of 
the law " thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself." But alas, notwithstanding all the 
kind indulgence of heaven, and all the cul" 
ture divinely bestowed, the world appears 
to be yet in a state of moral infancy and very 
much in the condition of those to whom the 
Apostle addresses the following language : 
" For when for the time ye ought to be teach- 
ers ye have need that one teach you again, 
which be the first principles of the oracles of 
God." (Heb. v. 12.) What do we see 1 
One, who judges himself authorized by scrip- 
ture to be a slave owner. Another, who 
thinks himself authorized by scripture to 
judge that one, to denounce him, to anathe- 
matize him, because he is a slave owner. — 
Alas ! That the sweet charity of heaven 
should be so forgotten. 

1. In conclusion permit me first to call 
your attention to what from this discussion 
appears to be the fact in reference to this 
subject : that is that the only warrant for sla- 
very, *is the enactment of human laws. A 
warrant for it certainly cannot be found in 
the moral law. Nor can it be found in any 



130 LECTURE VI. 

of those scriptures that are sometimes relied 
on as furnishing a sanction for the institution. 
No man is authorized by the Noetic proph- 
ecy to hold another under bond-service un- 
less he is perfectly certain that, that other 
is a descendant of Canaan, and that he him- 
self has an express commission from God to 
enslave him. No man is authorized from 
the allowance of slavery under the old dis- 
pensation, to hold his fellow men under bond 
service unless he is himself a Jew, and actu- 
ally living under that dispensation, long since 
abrogated by the oblation of Christ. And 
because christian slaves under the new dis- 
pensation were commanded to exemplify 
their christian spirit by calmly and quietly 
submitting to their condition, though an un- 
desirable one, certainly furnishes no warrant 
from God for the institution of slavery. If 
a warrant for this institution is not found in 
the moral law, nor yet in any of those scrip- 
tures usually quoted for that purpose, where 
is it to be found 1 The answer is, you must 
go to man for your warrant, if any you have. 
But will the authority of human laws justify 
the practice in the court of enlightened con- 
science, and at the bar of omnipotent jus- 
tice % 



LECTURE VI. 131 

2. I remark secondly that God often en- 
dures things, which he cannot and does not 
approve. Thus slavery among the ancient 
Jews and early christians was suffered but 
not approved. The evidence that it was not 
approved in either instance, is the public and 
authorative announcement of that great prin- 
ciple of law, " Thou shaltlove thy neighbor 
as thyself," which covers all the relations 
and obligations of man to man. This law 
rightly understood and practically obeyed, 
signs the death warrant of slavery in all the 
multiplied shades of its manifestation. It is 
an element of eternal antagonism to all the 
wrongs with which sin has overflooded the 
race of men. " Love worketh no ill to his 
neighbor." The publication of this law vin- 
dicates God from all suspicion of ever be- 
stowing his approval or sanction upon the in- 
stitution of slavery. As God suffered sla- 
very among the Jews, and early christians, 
but did not approve it, so he may suffer it at 
the present day, but he does not, and cannot 
approve it. 

3. I remark thirdly that the best course 

for those to pursue, who think that they have 

authority from the word of God to hold their 
12* 



132 LECTURE VI. 

fellow men under bond-service, is to give 
themselves candidly and prayerfully to the 
study of the moral law, especially that pre- 
cept of it, which covers the relations that 
men sustain to each other under the govern- 
ment of God. " Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself" is a rule eternally obligatory 
upon all men. Upon a broad principle of 
equity which all are capable of appreciating 
and understanding, it constitutes each one 
the judge of what is due to his fellow men. 
Does self love revolt at the idea of your 
becoming a bond-servant ? Then should you 
revolt at the idea of holding a fellow man 
under bond-service. Let the moral law be 
studied until its import is fully understood, its 
beauty and glory seen, its value appreciated, 
and its benign influence deeply felt by every 
bosom and slavery would only be known, as 
what had once been, but now is not. All 
would then be free from the slavery of sin 
and Satan, all would be liberated from every 
species of civil bondage ; there would be a 
new heaven and a new earth wherein dwel- 
leth righteousness, and nothing would offend 
in all God's holy mountain. 



LECTURE VII. 



IF THE SCRIPTURES RIGHTLY UNDER- 
STOOD DO NOT AUTHORIZE THE INSTI- 
TUTION OF SLAVERY, HOW ARE WE TO 
TREAT CHRISTIANS WHO STAND CONNEC- 
TED WITH THE INSTITUTION ? 

ROM. xiv. 1. 

"Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not 
to doubtful disputations." 

" Lord wilt thou that we command fire to 
come down from heaven, and consume them, 
even as Elias did"? said two of the disci- 
ples on a particular occasion, when certain 
Samaritans had declined to extend the rights 
of hospitality to them, and their Master. 
" But he turned, and rebuked them, and said 
ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; 
for the Son of Man is not come to destroy 
men's lives, but to save them." (Luke 9. 
54-6.) Those disciples, though themselves 
as yet in the dark on many important doctrin- 



134 LECTURE VII. 

al points relating to the kingdom of Christ, 
were notwithstanding penetrated with a deep 
sense of the moral worth of their divine 
master, and felt indignant that a village of 
the Samaritans should refuse him the rights 
of hospitality. By manifesting a proper re- 
sentment and taking summary measures to 
chastize them for the supposed insult, they 
concluded, they would be but commending 
their own zeal in the cause of religion, and 
showing their attachment to the person of the 
Saviour. Butthe temper of mind, which they 
indulged was neither in accordance with the 
spirit of the gospel, nor honorable to that Mas- 
ter, whom by it, they designed to serve. 
These disciples are not the only persons, who 
under the impression of a deep, and burning 
zeal for truth, have cherished in their bosoms 
the unrelenting spirit of fanaticism. Under 
the plea of more than ordinary attachment to 
truth, and purity, and righteousness, how 
many alienate from their souls the last spark 
of heaven's charity, and substitute in its place 
an uncompromising malignity, that would 
wither and blight every thing in the empire 
of God, which does not symbolize with their 
peculiar views. "Wilt thou that we com- 



LECTURE. VII. 135 

mand fire to come down from heaven and 
consume them] Well is it for poor, suffer- 
ing humanity, that the fire of heaven is not 
under the control of this spirit. 

There was some tendency to the indul- 
gence of this spirit in the primitive church of 
Rome. The Jewish and Gentile converts 
differed in opinion on sundry subjects per- 
taining to the ritual of religion. These differ- 
ences of opinion produced heated and angry 
disputations among them. These disputes 
engendered antipathy one toward another and 
mutual recriminations. It was time for the 
Apostle to interpose the authority, which God 
had given him for the edification, and peace of 
the church. He begins by laying down a gen- 
eral principle which covers, and is applica- 
ble to all cases of a similar character, where 
there are points of difference between mem- 
bers of the christian family. ' Him that is 
weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubt- 
ful disputations." We are not only to receive 
him that is weak in the faith, but we are to re- 
frain from annoying him with our peculiar 
views in a way of angry controversy. ^ c 
may state our own views in a kind and chris- 
tian manner and firmly adhere to them, but 



136 LECTURE VII. 

we may not denounce those in the church, 
who differ from us as unworthy a place in the 
family of God. 

This rule of the Apostle is I think, evi- 
dently applicable to us in our intercourse 
with southern christians. The matter in dif- 
ference between us and them, it is true, is 
not the same, as that between the Jew and 
Gentile in the church of Rome. It is un- 
speakably less momentous in its character. 
That was an incipient struggle between Ju- 
daism and Christianity, vital to the soul's sal- 
vation. This relates simply to the civil condi- 
tion of men. Now it is notorious, that men 
may be christians, and eminent christians, and 
still remain under civil bondage, but no man 
can be a christian and still remain a Jew at 
heart. {Gal. iii. 2 — 6.) If it was the duty of 
the Gentile christian to receive the Jewish 
convert, who still had a predilection for some 
parts of an abrogated ceremonial law, much 
more is it our duty to receive into peaceable 
communion those members of the christian 
family who as yet do not see, nor feel that the 
relation, which they sustain to their servants, 
is one that is not warranted by the scriptures. 
That the above position is entirely correct I 



LECTURE VII. 137 

most conscientiously and firmly believe, and 
for the following reasons. 

1. The manner, in which God treated this 
subject in the days of Moses and during the 
whole period of the Jewish polity, may teach 
us the duty of forbearance towards christians 
who are entangled in the meshes of a civil 
institution, which prevents their immediate 
reception of truth in all the extent of its ap- 
plication. Slavery existed among the Jews, 
when God promulgated his holy law from 
mount Sinai. That law rightly understood, 
and practically obeyed, is death to the insti- 
tution of bond service. But the people were 
not able to bear all the light and glory of the 
moral law in its application to human rela- 
tions, and God in his wisdom, and condescen- 
sion, and mercy exercised indulgence toward 
their weakness. He permitted the institu- 
tion of bond-service, identified as it was by 
the immemorial usage with all the domestic 
arrangements of the people, to remain for the 
time being, only making such modifications 
in it, as they were able to bear, to ameliorate 
somewhat the condition of the slave. Now 
if God, who understands his own law most 
perfectly, did exercise forbearance towards 



138 LECTURE VII. 

his people in this instance and commune with 
them, still, much more should we exercise 
forbearance towards our fellow christians, 
who are in circumstances in many respects en- 
tirely analogous to those of the Jews. In this 
instance God dealt with his people not accor- 
ding to his own glorious standard of truth, 
forever dear to his heart, and eternally pre- 
sent to his infinite mind, but according to the 
amount of truth, which, they were able to 
bear. And do we not all need the same ten- 
der forbearance on account of our many de- 
ficiencies both in knowledge and righteous- 
ness % Does it become us, because we may 
have received a little more light than others, 
not on account of our being better men than 
they, but on account of our being placed in 
more favorable circumstances for the recep- 
tion of light does it become us, to rise up 
and judge them make our standard of truth a 
rule of moral action to them, and if they do 
not instantly comply with our dictation, drive 
them from the house of God, and treat them 
as aliens ? If God in the light of his own 
blessed truth, should treat us, as many are 
disposed indiscriminately to treat all, who 
sustain the relation of Master to servant, yea 



LECTURE VII. 139 

all, who do not exactly symbolize with them 
in sentiment, our prospects for the futuro 
would soon be covered with the pall of eter- 
nal night. But blessed be God, " He is 
plenteous in mercy." " He hath not dealt 
with us according to our sins, nor rewarded 
us according to our iniquities." That same 
mercy which he shows to us, he shows even 
to slaveholders. He did so in the days of 
Moses, he did so in the days of Christ, and 
what should prevent him from doing so now 
under circumstances very similar in their 
character % Evidently, if we have his spirit, 
that same mercy which we crave of him, we 
shall be willing to show to others. 

2. The example of our blessed Lord is not 
to be overlooked on this subject. He has 
left us an example, that we should follow his 
steps. (1 Pet. ii. 21.) It is undeniable that 
he lived in daily contact with the institution 
of slavery, of slavery, if you please, in its 
mildest form. Yet the pictures which he 
draws of the institution then existing, for the 
purpose of illustrating important truth, show 
us that it was slavery sufficiently rigorous in 
its character. Those servants, that pass in 
review before us, are slaves in tho broadest 



140 EEC I DUE VII. 

sense of the term. They go at the bidding 
of their master, they employ themselves for 
his benefit, without any reward except the 
general approbation of their faithfulness and 
their advancement to more responsible sta- 
tions of trust, and when they fad in obedi- 
ence they are punished without appeal to any 
other law than the will of their masters. 
[Luke xii. 46 : Math. xxv. 30.) Where in 
all the instruction of our Saviour, is there 
a word said against the institution of sla- 
very ] Though he referred to slavery often 
for the illustration of truth, and though 
he remained silent as it regards any direct 
interference with it, yet I cannot infer hence 
that he approved of the institution itself. On 
the contrary, the fact that he re-enacted the 
great principle of l moral .»", " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself," and incorpo- 
rated it into the christian system, is to me 
Convincing proof that' he did not, and could 
not, approve of slavery. But in his infinite 
wisdom, he saw that the best way to remove 
it was not to interfere with it directly. He 
therefore passed it by in silence, as a minor 
evil, and employed himself in the more im- 
portant business of bringing both master and 



LECTURE \il HI 

servant into a state of reconciliation with 
God. Where is the evidence, that Jesus 
Christ refused to commune with the slave- 
holders of his day ] Where is the evidence 
that he withheld his approbation from any 
who were penitent and believing, on account 
of their peculiar civil relations ? Did he not 
commend the faith of the Roman centurion, 
who was doubtless a slaveholder % {Luke 
vii. 29.) Jesus Christ did not judge and 
treat his disciples according to the fulness of 
truth, which lay concentrated in his own in- 
finite mind, but according to the amount of 
truth, which they were able to receive and 
bear. If they were reconciled to God, if 
they had a little faith, a little love, a little 
humility, he approved the good which they 
had, and bore with their infirmities. He 
communed with them, and encouraged them 
to persevere in the path of holiness. We 
are bound to imitate our Divino Master in 
this, as in all his other examples, which are 
imitable. And if we imitate him, we shall 
do no such thing as denounce a man because 
he happens to be a slaveholder, and we not, 
we shall do no such thing as withhold com- 
munion from him, or threaten to withhold. 



14& LECTURE VII. 

If we have not the spirit of Christ we are 
none of his. 

3. The same great principle, of treating 
men according to the truth which they could 
bear, was observed by the apostles of our 
Lord, as they went abroad under the guid- 
ance of the Holy Spirit, preaching the gos- 
pel to every creature. When in fulfillment 
of their great commission, they passed the 
limits of Judea into the adjacent provinces 
of the Roman empire, they found themselves 
surrounded continually with slaves and slave 
owners. To these, they preached indiscrim- 
inately, whenever and wherever they were ac- 
cessible, and testified to all repentance toward 
God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 
The early converts to Christianity were slaves 
and slave owners. Together they were con- 
stituted into churches, together they commun- 
ed in the same church, and with them all the 
apostles had fellowship and communion. (1 
Cor. xii. 13.) Being directed by the holy Spir- 
it, they did not interfere with the existing civiJ 
relations of their converts, but enjoined upon 
them a faithful discharge of the reciprocal 
duties which arise out of those relations. 
The slave was to be obedient, the master 



LECTURE VII. 143 

was to be kind, as they should both answer 
for their conduct in the da) of final reck- 
oning. Now we can find nothing in the con- 
duct of these great master builders of Zion, 
which will justify us in withholding com- 
munion from our brethren in the south, be- 
cause they may be slaveholders. Most 
clearly, by their example, as well as by the 
manner in which God and the Saviour had 
previously treated the subject, the Holy 
Spirit teaches us that it is our duty to receive 
these converts to Christianity into peaceable 
communion and treat them as brethren, "be- 
cause they are faithful and beloved, partakers 
of the benefit." 

In pursuing the above course, it is not ne- 
cessary to compro.Tiit one iota of the great 
principles of the moral law. Indeed, under 
the circumstances, it is the only way in which 
we can illustrate the spirit of that law by our 
example. The apostles, when they received 
slaveholders into the church and communed 
with them, made no compromise of that fun- 
damental principle of the christian system, 
" Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 
On the contrary, under the direction of the 
blessed Spirit, they pursued the only feasi- 



144 LECTURE VII. 

ble course to gain for it a more universal suf- 
frage. They secured a lodgment for it in 
the heart of the slave owner, and by a con- 
sistent illustration of it in their own example, 
they did not alarm his prejudice nor over- 
task his weakness, but left it in his bosom un- 
embarrassed, to leaven his whole spirit, and 
yield the precious fruits of christian charity. 
What element under the moral government 
of God except Christianity, can reach the 
slave, dissolve his bonds, and elevate his 
moral and intellectual nature in the scale of 
humanity. None, certainly. Christianity, 
has done all that ever has been done, towards 
improving the condition of bond servants. 
Were not the apostles wise in the course 
which they pursued % And would we not 
be wise to imitate their example 1 

What good will result from pursuing a dif- 
ferent course % I can form no conception 
of any. We may, by acting contrary to 
apostolic example, nourish in our own bosom 
a spirit of self complacency, and all the bit- 
terness of censorious dictation, than which 
nothing can be conceived more alien to chris- 
tianity. We may grieve and exasparate our 
brethren at the south, and provoke in them 



LECTURE VII. 145 

a spirit of recrimination,, equally adverse to 
christian love. Amidst this unhallowed strife 
in the household of faith, how is the slave to 
be benefitted 1 When we become more ac- 
tuated with hatred to the slave owner than 
with love to the slave, which is the inevita- 
ble result of pursuing a course contrary to 
apostolic example, then the true interests of 
those in bondage both for time and eternity, 
will be overlooked and forgotten. When 
the spirit of christian love is fairly driven 
from the field by the mutual exasperations of 
those who are the professed followers of 
Christ, then the fetters of moral and civil 
bondage are more firmly rivetted, and the 
day of final deliverance is postponed indefi- 
nitely. 

4. I remark in the fourth place, if there is 
nothing in the manner in which God treated 
this subject in the days of Moses, nothing in 
the manner in which Christ treated it during 
the period of his personal ministry, and noth- 
ing in the example of the Apostles which will 
justify us in denouncing southern christians, 
and in banishing them beyond the pale of 
christian communion, then I ask, where do 
we find our justification for such a course 1 



146 LECTURE VII. 

Where is our divine warrant? Do we go 
back to first principles, and take refuge un- 
der the great law of christian benevolence, 
" Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself?" 
But in our application of this law to particu- 
lar instances, we must take care that we do 
not fall under the very condemnation which 
we would confidently pronounce upon oth- 
ers. In all instances of its application, where 
benevolence of feeling and benevolence of 
action, are called into vigorous exercise, we 
we are unquestionably safe, for " love work- 
eth no ill to his neighbor." In all instances, 
however, where feelings of an opposite char- 
acter, and action of a different nature are sug- 
gested, we should instantly pause and exam- 
ine whether the application we are about to 
make accords with the spirit of the law it- 
self. If we perceive that the application un- 
der review is about to call forth a spirit of 
censoriousness, and lead us to assume the pre- 
rogatives of God and judge our brother, we 
may be absolutely certain, if we proceed, 
that we shall violate the law, and fall under 
its righteous condemnation. Here we should 
not only pause before we proceed, but dili- 
gently inquire, whether in the past exigen- 






LECTURE VII. 147 

cies of human beings, any analagous cases can 
be found, where God has directed his ser- 
vants in their application of this law for the 
regulation of moral action. Such examples, 
if such there are, we may follow with per- 
fect safety. Happily for us, we have the 
very examples which we need. We have 
them in the manner in which God applied, 
this law in the days of Moses, in which our 
Saviour applied it during his personal minis- 
try, in which the inspired, apostles applied, 
it in founding 1 and regulating the christian 
church in its primitive simplicity and pu- 
rity. Will it be safe for us to prefer our 
own opinion to the opinion of God clearly 
expressed in cases very analagous 1 

We are, however, apt to deceive ourselves 
with plausibilities. Thus the disciples fan- 
cied, they loved their master so much, that 
they would be justified in destroying the Sa- 
maritans, because they had not treated him 
with all the respect which seemed to be due. 
Thus we too, may fancy that we love the 
slave so much that we shall be justified in 
treating the slave owner very roughly, if he 
proceed not to immediate emancipation at tho 
simple instance of our dictation. The disci- 



148 LECTUBE VII. 

pies might have said, it is a sin not to love the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Very true. But before 
you apply this rule to the Samaritans, you 
must first enlighten them and convince them 
of their sin. Was it a good way to convince 
them of sin, to call down the fire of heaven 
upon them ? So we may say slavery is a 
sin and the slaveholder should immediately 
repent. Be it so. Before, however, you 
apply this rule to him, you must enlighten 
and convince him of his sin. He does not 
see, nor feel, that it is sinful to hold men un- 
der bond service. He has not as yet taken 
those views of the divine law, which lead 
him either to see, or feel, that he has done 
wrong. How can he repent until he is con- 
vinced of sin 1 Would we have him repent, 
of what we conceive to be a sin, when he 
does not himself feel it to be a sin ] What 
kind of repentance would that be *? Shall 
we, however, be likely to induce him to take 
those views of the moral law which will lead 
him to see that bond service has no warrant 
from God, by threatening him, denouncing 
him, and cutting him off from all christian in- 
tercourse and communion ? While we scold, 
and threaten, and confidently dictate, he will 



LECTURE VII. J 49 

never take that dispassionate survey of the 
subject, which will lead to correct and en- 
larged views of his duty. And we may 
thank ourselves for preventing a candid and 
christian investigation of the subject on his 
part. 

But aside from the evil influence of this 
course of dictation and denunciation upon the 
mind of the slaveholder, it is a direct viola- 
tion of that fundamental law — " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself," and a grosser 
violation of it, than even that of slaveholding. 
The disciples, in the case above alluded to, 
were for making their own view of duty, a 
rule of action for the Samaritans, were ready 
to judge them by that rule, and not only this ; 
so exalted an idea had they of their own in- 
fallibility in the premises, that they were for 
destroying them outright and instantly. Now 
when we call christians at the south by hard 
names, and threaten to excommunicate them 
from the church of God, which is the proper 
idea of withdrawing communion from them, in 
what respect do we fail of being actuated by 
the same spirit '? In this instance, we are de- 
termined that our own views of duty shall be 
a rule of action for them, and if thev will not 



150 LECTURE VII, 

submit their consciences in abject servility to 
our dictation, we will take signal vengeance 
on them. We cannot call fire down from 
heaven upon them. But what we can do, 
we will do. We will denounce them with 
opprobrious epithets, we will spurn them 
from the christian family. Holding men in 
civil bondage, is innocence when compared 
with this arrosfant doofmatizino' over the con- 

no o 

sciences of others. It is the very spirit of 
antichrist which has kindled the fires of per- 
secution in every age and drenched the earth 
with the blood of martyrs. Where in the bi- 
ble do we find a warrant for indulging such 
a spirit 1 Plainly it is a gross violation of 
the fundamental law of christian benevo- 
lence. And if there be no warrant for it in 
the word of God, then are we necessarily 
brought back to the simple rule laid down j 
by the Apostle : " Him that is weak in the 
faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputa- j 
tion." We, on account of the more favora- 
ble circumstances in which we are placed, j 
may see clearly that it is not in accordance j 
with the spirit of the divine law, to hold men I 
under bond service. Our southern brethren, 
being placed in circumstances less favorable,! 



LECTURE VII. 1M 

do not see this. We are to judge of them, 
not according to the light which we may 
have, but according to the light which they 
have received. If they have embraced some 
of the primary truths of Christianity and given 
their hearts to God, then we are to receive 
them into peaceable communion, and to cher- 
ish them as " faithful and beloved, partakers of 
the benefit." 

The above course we should conscien- 
tiously pursue, as much from love to the ser- 
vant, as from love to his christian master. 
Christianity is the only lever which we have 
for raising the bondservant to a state of free- 
dom. When therefore we cast off the chris. 
tians of the south, and separate ourselves 
from them, we utterly denude ourselves of 
all power to benefit the slave. It is only 
through the christian master, that we can 
reach the bond servant to unclasp his fetters 
and raise him to the rank of a freeman. 
How else can we reach him 1 We have no 
right to legislate over the conscience of his 
master. God will not permit us to do it. 
If the slave ever gains his freedom inno- 
cently and with a good conscience, he will 
gain it by the voluntary action of his master* 



152 LECTUKE VII. 

If we wish to see slavery abolished, we must 
labor to have the whole south leavened with 
the pure spirit of Christianity. And evidently 
the only way in which we can exert an influ- 
ence in diffusing Christianity over the south, is 
to cherish, encourage, and aid the christians 
that are there. Instead of calling down the 
fire of heaven to consume them, we should 
call down the fire of christian love to warm, 
and expand, and elevate, and enlarge their 
hearts. 

What but Christianity abolished slavery in 
the north ? It was the spirit of Christianity 
that moved upon the face of the commu- 
nity, shed the mild radiance of its blessed 
light upon all the relations of man, and pre- 
pared the public mind for that course of leg- 
islation which terminated the existence of 
bond service. What Christianity has done in 
the north, it will do in the south, provided 
we do not foolishly and wickedly interfere to 
retard the progress of its light and extin- 
guish the flame of its rising glory in the tur- 
bid waters of human strife. Many christians 
at the south are fully enlightened upon this 
subject, and are doing all in their power for 
the promotion of human freedom. But when 



LECTURE VII. 153 

we who are ignorant of their circumstances, 
presume to take the reins out of their hands, 
and treat them with arrogant dictation, their 
power to do good is greatly paralyzed. 
What obstacles, our injudicious interference 
has already thrown in the way of their access 
to the impenitent mind, is beyond calcula- 
tion. If we desire the prevalence of free- 
dom, why do we pursue this course and crip- 
ple the only agency, which can be made 
available to an end so much to be desired 1 
Had it not been for our censorious and dic- 
tatorial action, ere this, beyond a doubt, Ma- 
ryland and Kentucky had been ^ree states, 
and Virginia had been on the eve of emanci- 
pation. We have broken the arms of our 
christian friends at the South, by producing 
.such a fermentation in the public mind there, 
as wholly to exclude their healthy and effi- 
cient action. Why do we pursue a course 
so injudicious, so contrary to the spirit of 
christian benevolence % Do we design to co- 
erce the South % This is visionary, if our 
object is the abolition of bond service. A 
tyrant power may change the name and form 
of slavery, but the thing itself will still con- 
tinue. Christianity, and not coercion, is tho 



154 LECTURE VII. 

element which alone secures moral and civil 
freedom to man. Coercion may rouse into 
action a savage ferocity, produce a plentiful 
effusion of human gore, and fill the land with 
the wail of agony, but it will not unclasp the 
the fetters of the slave, nor fit him for the en- 
joyment of liberty. And when God makes 
inquisition for blood, in whose skirts will that 
blood be found, which has been shed by our 
coercion 1 Verily we assume a fearful re- 
sponsibility, when we would coerce the 
south. How different is this from the course 
pursued by the holy Apostles of our Lord in 
a similar case — how different from the course 
recommended in the language of the Holy 
Spirit at the head of this discourse. If we 
really desire the abolition of slavery, we 
must cordially embrace christians at the 
south in the fellowship of the gospel, cher- 
ish them, encourage them, and aid them in 
their labors of love. They are as noble spir- 
its as the world can produce, and in propor- 
tion to their convictions of duty, as ready as 
any to make sacrifices for the promotion of 
truth. Give them the same amount of moral 
light, the same vantage ground, to influence 
f.he public mind, that our fathers enjoyed, and 



LECTURE VII. 155 

they will not be slow in bringing the whole 
system of bond service to a final period. We 
may suppose them deficient in their views of 
the moral law, in the extent of its application 
to human relations, but this is no reason for 
casting them off. "Who is not deficient ? " Let 
him that is without sin cast the first stone." 



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